Activist accuses police of alleged compromise in case against two officers

The Coordinator of the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Comrade Jude Ojiugo-Onochie, has accused the police crack team attached to the Delta State Police Command of allegedly taking “deliberate steps to kill” his case against two police officers in the state.

Ojiugo-Onochie said he had, on April 30, petitioned the Commissioner of Police, OlufemiAbaniwonda, through his legal counsel, Mr J.C. Dikedi, that two police officers attached to A division in Asaba allegedly ransacked his rooms on a fateful day, collected two phones and an MRS Music player, and removed N250,000 inside a black nylon kept under the bed.

The activist lamented the way the crack team handled the cases of brutality, excessive force, stealing and others against the police officers, stressing that there is an element of compromise on the part of the police to exonerate their colleagues.

According to him, the case, which has been assigned to the command’s crack team since April, is still embryonic, as the head of the team, Ibrahim Balarabe, is allegedly foot-dragging in the investigation.

“The manner the case has been handled does not go down well. They (the police) are treating such a sensitive case and the suspects with levity; it leaves me without confidence in them,” he said.

He said the crack team interviewed the two suspects, during which they brought out things they removed in the rooms but without the N250,000.

When contacted, the command’s spokesperson, Bright Edafe, confirmed the story and stressed that the suspects were police constabulary.

He added that the police are investigating the case to know what really transpired.