Members of the Edo Civil Society Organisations have called for the redeployment of the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Vice Unit of the Edo State Police Command and Chief Superintendent of Police, Muhammad Abubakar.
EDOCSO said it will no longer accept his alleged excesses and vowed to end his reign of tyranny in the Edo State Police Command.
The Public Relations Officer of EDOSCO, Leftist Aimuae-Osa Igbinomwanhia, said the CSP had become the overlord police boss and a deity in the Edo State Police Command spanning over 15 years at the state police headquarters in Benin City.
Igbinomwanhia said: “There are reports of the things he and his boys are known for.
“Even as a former OC Anti-Cultism Unit.
“Is it the torture of detainees, obtaining of confessional statements from suspects under duress or illegal detentions without the notice of top management of the command?
“As an overlord, he releases suspects in his custody at his pleasure without regard to human rights, however not without the suspect relatives paying huge ransoms for their wards’ freedom.
“These processes negate the instructions of the under-listed laws: The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Anti-Torture Act.”
Igbinomwanhia said over the weekend, the same CSP Abubakar detained Leftist Omobude Agho and three others over lingering issues at Ugbineh Community, a matter that is already before a competent court of jurisdiction, falsely accusing them of jumping administrative bail, which never happened.
She said: “That was though made nonsense in court by the defence lawyer, Olayiwola Afolabi (SAN).
“He deliberately denied the four men bail from Friday, 16th August, 2024 till Monday, 19th August, 2024 – a period beyond 72 hours.
“He became intentionally evasive and absent from duty.
“He avoided taking calls, but was responding to text messages.
“CSP Muhammad Abubakar committed himself to personal interest to override his dispassionate sense of judgement by conducting himself in the most unprofessional manner in a matter he ought to be neutral as a supposed trained police officer.
“He turned himself into the investigator, prosecutor and the trial judge.
“His overall conduct was at total variance with the Nigeria Police Establishment Act as quoted below. Section 353. Conduct of Police Officers Generally.
“A police officer shall not conduct himself in such a manner as to bring his private interests into conflict, his public duties or in such manner as is likely to cause a suspicion in the mind of any reasonable person that he has – (a) allowed his private interests to come into conflict with his public duties; or b) used his public position for his private advantage. As enshrined in the Police Establishment Act.”
Igbinomwanhia recalled that on August 18, 2024, EDOCSO executive members in the company of a legal representative met with the CSP at the State Police Headquarters because he had allegedly been avoiding contact.
He added: “The issue of granting bail or charging them to court the following day Monday, 19th August, 2024 was raised, the deity of Edo State Police Command ordered one of his overzealous lieutenants, Officer Ella, to grant them bail, the OC, Anti-Vice, zoomed out of the command premises.
“Only his anointed officer, Mrs. Ella, who is regarded as the boss lady, refuses to grant them bail, claiming that CSP Muhammad Abubakar gave the standing order, displaying his artificial authority again, and throwing the voice of reasoning into the winds.
“At that point, we insisted they should be taken to court the following day without further delay.
“On Monday, 19th August, 2024, members of EDOCSO gathered at the Benin High Court Complex in solidarity with the illegally arrested and detained victims.
“We waited until 11am without seeing the victims, only to be shockingly informed thereafter that the officers in charge haven’t even resumed at all for the day in the Anti-Vice Department at the Police Headquarters.
“This brought about the anger that prompted the movement to bring the evil to the attention of the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Nemi Edwin-Iwo, via a protest that saw the picketing of the state command.
“The newly-deployed CP was shocked at the revelations made by EDOCSO, his prompt intervention indeed fast-tracked the process of charging victims to vacation court swiftly.
“It was established that CSP Muhammad Abubakar’s primary objective is to fulfil his part of the bargain by filing a motion ex parte to secure a remand order to keep them in prison custody pending whenever he is ready to file a formal charge(s) against and to use the same window to get evidence to support various demonic allegations to perpetually keep them in prison custody as long as he pretends to be investigating a non-existence communal war, a tactic deployed by old school dubious law enforcement agents that has led to the numerous cases of awaiting trials innocent victims in our prisons today.
“This is purely demonic and an abuse of police power, a very shameful tale to say the least.
“The court proceedings went on smoothly, overturning the highly funded evil conspiracy plans, Leftist Omobude Agho and six others were granted bail awaiting the proper case to be filed.
“With this sponsored evil against outstanding patriots of Edo state and Nigeria, without conscience at all, it has now become a very terrible risk to still have characters like CSP Muhammed Abubakar smuggling his way back into our state command for whatever reason.
“We are calling on the new Commissioner of Police, CP Nemi Edwin-Iwo, to quickly reconsider the deity CSP, redeployment back to Edo State Police Command, though history has it that CSP Muhammad Abubakar is powerful in upturning deployment exercise from previous Commissioners of Police using his connections from above to intimidate and boastfully have his ways.
“It is on records that Whenever he is deployed out of the command, he has a magical way of surreptitiously working his way back, making it look like there is something he left in Edo State that he cannot do in his police employment elsewhere in the country.
Also Read:
- New NNPC Group CEO: Brilliance, experience, acumen, by Kunle Akogun
- Oyebanji unfolds infrastructure upgrade plan for EKSU
- Yabatech blazes trail in gender response pedagogy training, certification in tertiary institutions
- Conference of Speakers visits Obasa, commends his leadership
- Inclusive governance: Ebonyi CSO advocates support for children’s parliament in LGAs
“He thinks he can continue to perform his unprofessional police duties in the state like before, it is time to say enough is enough.
“Edo State is home to a very formidable human rights movement where Leftist Omobude Agho serves in its leadership hierarchy, such a character is not one whose fundamental human rights CSP Muhammad Abubakar can disrespect or abuse for any personal monetary sponsorship without maximum resistance.
“We will not close our eyes to some individuals who will use their public office to intimate and oppress our people. This affliction must be cured now and never come back a second time.
“We demand as soon as possible the redeployment of CSP Muhammad Abubakar out of Edo State with immediate effect, we won’t allow him this time again to paint a bad image of Edo State and the new CP as our camera eyes are currently fixed on him and the personnel under him.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
