A total of 29 Leaders of notable civil society organisations and coalitions across Nigeria have praised the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Adamu Mohammed for disbanding the satellite offices and bases of the Inspector- General of Police Intelligence Response Unit (IRT) and the Special Tactical Squad (STS).
Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre in a statement jointly signed by leaders of other groups said they have also observed the mixed reactions that have trailed that directive as well as intensified campaigns from some quarters aimed at pressuring the IGP to reverse himself based on their perceptions and opinions about the advertised achievements of the IRT Commander, DCP Abba Kyari.
“As notable leaders of civil society organizations in Nigeria most of whose organisations are involved in daily monitoring and documenting of the conduct of law enforcement agencies and are also reputable advocates of police reform and law enforcement accountability, we wish to state our position from an informed and unbiased perspective, and hereby state as follows, that:
We commend and welcome the decision of IGP Adamu Mohammed to disband the satellite offices and bases of the IRT and STS; and we believe his decision was in response to the numerous complaints and public outcry concerning the notoriety of the operatives of these units who regularly engage in human rights violations, brutality, violence, corruption and abuse.
The operatives took advantage of the attachment of ‘Inspector general of Police’ to their names to commit crimes and abuses in the name of the IGP; they conducted themselves in the most appallingly unprofessional ways, placed themselves above the law and were unaccountable in their operations.
Their excesses were so menacing that even Senior Police Officers, including DPOs, Area Commanders and Commissioners of Police could not control them. They became so unbearably lawless that senior officers in states complained.
One senior officer in one state lamented thus: ‘the personnel of IRT in the field are indeed doing everything they possibly can to bring that once reputable team to opprobrium…tales of their activities here have become a sing song amongst Policemen. The CP has continually decried their impunity, recklessness and unprofessional conduct.
In fact, no Division or Area Command accepts suspects from them anymore. It’s a pity, but we need people like you to continue to point all these out and maybe, just maybe the top echelon will come to terms with all these and take a decisive action to stem the ebb’.
“We are not unmindful of the operational exploits of the IRT in particular, under commander DCP Abba Kyari, in arresting some high-profile kidnap suspects and successfully setting free some kidnap victims. However, many of the operatives recklessly engaged in excesses and atrocities – ranging from abductions, detention, torture and extortion of huge sums of money from targeted victims and illegally confiscated and converted money and properties recovered or belonging to many of the persons they arrested for their personal use.
“Some of our organisations intervened in some cases and our findings were that many of the victims were innocent of the crimes for which they were abducted, maltreated and extorted of huge sums of money. In fact, the operatives exploited and turned their call to combat crime into an opportunity to commit crime by harassing, intimidating, maltreating and extorting huge funds from victims most of whom were framed with false accusations. We will illustrate with specific examples.
“We recognize that the IGP’s directive reorganizing the IRT and STS by bringing them under control would facilitate transparent and accountable operations. Most of the atrocities that have dented the image of the police were carried out at the satellite bases where the operatives acted with impunity. Their reckless activities and the public outcry over their excesses justify the IGP’s directive disbanding their satellite bases leaving only the headquarters offices now placed under the SIB.
“It is our belief that the IRT and such other non-regular units within the NPF can work with personnel in the various state commands who will be under the strict supervision and control of the State Commissioners who will in turn be held responsible for any excesses and failures of the operatives or failure to hold them accountable for breach of due process.
“We call on the IGP to further ensure that numerous allegations and complaints against particular operatives contained in several pending petitions by several organizations and individuals and in reports by notable organizations such as Amnesty International, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), among others are investigated and officers responsible for abuse, corruption and misconduct brought to account.
“We have noted what appears like desperate efforts by some people, including those who claim to be ‘security experts’, kicking and pushing a campaign against the IGP’s directives disbanding the satellite offices of IRT and STS; we have also noted the sudden emergence of some hitherto unknown entities masquerading as ‘civil society organizations’, attacking the IGP’s directive and calling for a reversal. These unknown entities attempted to ignore the hard facts regarding abuses and overreach by IRT operatives and their lack of accountability and due process in their operations.
“We believe that the IGP’s intervention was warranted, necessary and appropriate and should have come earlier than now.
“While we do not discountenance the exploits of the IRT in arresting some high-profile kidnap suspects and rescuing some victims, the need to reorganize these units and enhance their professionalism and effectiveness and make them accountable is not disputed. It is important that the IGP has taken the first right step in the right direction. He should take the further step to ensure that personnel involved in criminal conducts of torture and extortion are investigated and punished accordingly for deterrence.
“For the purpose of illustration, we itemize hereunder, few of the numerous shocking instances of the criminal activities and human rights atrocities of the personnel of the IRT and STS in the states so Nigerians can see their true colors. The cases cited below illustrate how many of the operatives engaged in abductions, detention, torture and extortion of targeted victims. They appropriate exhibits and illegally seized funds and properties not connected to any crime, convert them to their private use and also demand bribes in millions to release their victims”.
Sample Cases
“In summary, we present at the end of this statement, just a few of a multiplicity of cases to illustrate the problem and pattern of blatant abuse and corruption by IRT and STS. There are more cases than the number presented hereunder. A public hearing will afford many victims the opportunity to bring their cases forward and testify about their experiences and ordeals in the hands of these unscrupulous operatives and unveil more gory stories if the IGP needs more proof.
“In all of these, the head of IRT did nothing to stop the extortion and torture even when he promised to do so. There is no record that anyone has been brought to book in IRT on account of these unconscionable practices. Rather he tries to shield his men from the investigation as the case of Ezenwa, presented under, will show.
“It was a crying shame what our tactical squads became before their disbandment by the IGP. The culture of impunity that led to the stopgap created to maintain sanity within the operations of the Police before the new IGP assumed office was gathering steam again with the unprofessional daily engagements of men at the IGP-IRT.
“We have since lost 82 Nigerians and several others to extrajudicial killings, abductions, indiscriminate harassment and arrests amidst other unprofessional conducts of Police officers due to the failure of the leadership to hold them accountable. Not a single officer attached to SARS, SACS, SAKS, STS, ZIS, IRT and other units has been brought to book on account of their daily deployment of torture against innocent citizens despite the provisions of the Anti-Torture Act of 2017 and other extant national and international laws that prohibit human rights infringement.
The IGP-IRT was making the news almost every day for the wrong reasons and because unruly personnel have never been held to account, they continued to repeat their crimes, emboldened.
“We currently live in a country where we are 20 times more likely to be killed by Police officers than by a terrorist. Suffice to say that majority of our tactical squads have now become criminal enterprises abducting citizens for ransom under the guise of fighting fraud.
“We believe that the IGP wants to leave a better legacy and therefore considered taking the belated action in response to the organized crime syndicate running within the IGP-IRT as nothing proves the deployment of intelligence in their operations given our years of monitoring the Unit.
“As shown in the cases itemized under, we had to, on many occasions, bring few of these cases and our concerns directly to the attention of the Commanders of these units without presenting them publicly. But nothing changed. The IGP’s action is a welcome response to public outcry and outrage over these atrocities. The state offices must remain closed and the unit must operate professionally, respect human rights, shun corruption and be accountable.
CALLS
“We call on the IGP to, in addition to the disbandment of the satellite offices of the IRT and STS, order investigations into the various cases and allegation of unlawful detention, extortion, torture and other egregious abuses committed by any of the personnel of the units across the states
“We call for a review of all cases handled by the IRT and STS and an audit of all the funds and properties confiscated by them either as exhibits or illegally confiscated properties and determine to what extent some or all of these were converted to personal use by the operatives. They must be retrieved and returned to their owners.
“We call for training for police officers, especially of the units, on the various laws and legislation that impinge on police operations, including the Antitorture Act 2017, Force Order 237 and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials as well as the Guidelines for Law Enforcement Agencies on Covid-19 Enforcement, among others to enhance their professional efficiency
“We call on the IGP to support a Public Hearing to be conducted by Civil Society Organisations in collaboration with the NPF and the National Human Rights Commission which will afford victims the opportunity to come forward and tell their own stories and seek redress”.
