Family to IGP: Produce our son in Abba Kyari’s custody dead or alive

Family members of an accused, Nanpo Sambo, on Wednesday prayed a Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State to order the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to produce their son dead or alive.
The Sambo family, through their Counsel, D.G. Dashe, alleged that the IGP and the Officer-in-Charge of the IGP Special Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, lied to the Court that Nanpo died in cell while in detention.
“We don’t believe the story of the police. Some family members some time July ending, spoke with the suspect through the aid of a personnel, whose name we wouldn’t want to mention here,” Dashe said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Police had through their Counsel, Joshua Ayanna, told the court that Nanpo died on July 6 while in detention in an Abuja cell.
In a motion filed on September 11, Ayanna prayed the court to discharge its earlier order of August 3 that compelled the IGP and Kyari to appear before it to explain why the court would not charge them with contempt for failing to produce Nanpo to face trial.
Ayanna said: “At first, we were not aware of the court’s  earlier orders for us to produce the accused before the last order of August 3.
“Based on the information before this court, as contained in our motion, the accused is deceased and as we are praying this court to discharge the IGP and Kyari of its earlier order.”
But Dashe opposed to that submission, which he said was a ploy to run away from their disrespect to the court by refusing to appear before the court along with the accused (Nanpo).
He said: “We vehemently oppose the affidavit deposed to by the Police.
“This is because the crux of the motion for discharging them (IGP and Kyari) is based on the mere allegation that the accused died on July 6 in their cell in Abuja.
“I submit that on the strength of our exhibits A – C, they (Police) can’t claim ignorance of the court’s orders.
“Secondly, they are claiming that he (Nanpo) is dead.
“We don’t believe them.
“An uncle of his spoke with him around July ending, weeks after they (police) claimed he died on July 6.
“If truly he (Nanpo) is dead, the family members would have been informed.
“Why only now are they informing the court?
“We submit that they must obey the court order and until it is certified that the accused person is dead, they must obey the court.
”If he is dead, they must produce his corpse to show that he is truly dead.
“They (police) are only economical with the truth and we urge this court to dismiss their application and compel them to do the needful for this case to proceed.”
After listening to the arguments, Justice Dorcas Agishi adjourned the case until October 29 for ruling on the two motions.
NAN reports that the Court had on August 3, ordered the IGP and Kyari to appear before it or face contempt charge on September 25 and to produce the accused to be committed to prison custody.
Justice Agishi had given the order while hearing a case of illegal possession of firearms against Nanpo filed by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Department of State Services in 2016.