Two months after opening an inquiry, the panel investigating the allegations of killings, extortion and organ harvesting levelled against some senior officers of two police formations in Anambra has submitted its report, The PUNCH is reporting.
Quoting Muyiwa Adejobi, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), of the Nigerian Police Force (FPRO), the report said information on the latest development, was obtained on Sunday, as response to the inquiry raised by reporters in Awka on the matter.
The investigation is sequel to the damning expose by Gistlover, a blogging site, which had in early February made stark revelations, accusing three members of the state police force of atrocious activities.
The allegations, specifically naming the Commander Rapid Response Squad in Anambra, Patrick Agbazue a CSP, Nkeiru Nwode, a Superintendent of Police (SP) and zonal spokesman of Nigerian Police Zone 13, Ukpo, and Inspector Harrison Akama, also included torturing and forceful acquisition of properties owned by arrested victims.
The officers were first taken to Force Headquarters, Abuja, where they were first questions, before the authorities, set up a panel to investigate the matter, while a man identified as Daniel Nnamdi Emeh, the person, allegedly behind the whistleblower, was arrested, several weeks after being declared wanted.
The police spokesman, who said that the panel has submitted its report to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, was quoted as saying through the text message: “I am aware that the team has carried an investigation into the allegations, and a report has been sent to the IGP recently. I will get a copy of the report and act.”
The report also said that the Anambra State government which had begun acting on the orders of Chukwuma Soludo, to the Attorney-General of the state, Chika Ifemeje, to immediately call up all case files handled by the indicted police officers, had kept mum over the matter.
Every effort to get information as regards the matter from the commissioner on the outcome of the reviews, had been abortive as she has refused to speak on the matter, though a ministry source was quoted as saying that no review has been done.
“The panel by the IGP, which was supposed to last two weeks, has taken close to two months, but Anambra State, whose citizens are the ones being butchered and their parts sold by these officers have kept quiet, refusing to review the file as they had initially been ordered by the governor. It is a shame,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Emeh, 26 is said to be an Information Technology (IT) expert, working with the command, alleged to have leaked information to the blogger after he allegedly fell out with the indicted officers, earlier wanted for impersonation, possession of firearms and money laundering, is said to have moved from Abuja to Awka on Sunday for arraignment in court later in the week.
However, reacting to the latest development, particularly the arraignment of the IT officer, the police spokesman, said he was not aware, adding: “I will need to find out about that.”
Protests had been rife over the release of the alleged killer police officers by members of some civil society groups, who had also called for the protection of Emeh, insisting that he should be treated as a whistleblower, rather than being detained in solitary confinement.