The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) yesterday, Monday, December 16, 2019 sent two detailed letters to Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Barr Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha, and Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Retired IGP Musiliu Smith. In the detailed letter to the SGF, the rights group demanded for “A Joint Investigation Board into the Oraifite-Anambra Police and Army Mayhem of 2^nd Dec 2019 so as to establish ‘criminal’ and ‘civil’ involvements and their ‘service’ and ‘civil’ parties; with the overall aim of ensuring justice to the victims, justice to the society including deterrence and the peace loving people of Oraifite; and justice to the perpetrators or ‘criminal parties’.”

In the second letter to the PSC, Intersociety specifically demanded for investigation of CP John Abang, ACP Oliver I. Inoma-Abbey, CSP Alexander Chigozie Onwuka, ASP Joseph Akubo “and other police officers that vicariously or directly took part in the catastrophic mayhem”. “The PSC investigation under demand is for purpose of ascertaining the enormity of professional misconducts of the named officers and their immediate dismissal from the NPF if found culpable,” Intersociety said.

The two detailed letters, referenced INTERSOC:001/12/19/OSGF/ABJ/NG and NTERSOC:002/12/19/PSC/ABJ/NG, dated same 16^th Dec 2019, were signed by Lawyers Obianuju Igboeli, Head of Civil Liberties & Rule of Law, Chinwe Umeche, Head of Democracy & Good Governance and Ndidiamaka Bernard Chinaza, Head of Int’l Justice & Human Rights; and Emeka Umeagbalasi, a Criminologist & Chair of the Board of Intersociety. The letters were also copied to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Barr Abubakar Malami, SAN.

“In the Oraifite catastrophic mayhem, the Nigeria Police and their partners in crime including soldiers gravely messed up and acted abominably and atrociously; and having realized the quantum of ‘service’ atrocities perpetrated including massive burning and destruction of properties, they hurriedly resorted to ‘frame-ups’ and ‘collateral atrocities’ so as to escape justice and moral damnation. Remember similar service atrocities in Sept 2017 in Abia State when having realized the gravity and enormity of atrocities perpetrated against the defenseless citizens of the State including massacre and maiming of hundreds in three days, the Defense Headquarters and the Federal Government hurriedly declared the victim group (IPOB) a “terrorist group” so as to escape local and int’l justice. Unless all the ‘service’ perpetrators in the Oraifite mayhem are fished out and punished accordingly, otherwise, such ‘service’ atrocities will become a routine or operational tradition in the Nigerian security and defense establishments,” Intersociety said today in a statement signed by the same Principal Officers listed above.

According to the statement, “The letter to the SGF was in recognition of powers and functions so vested, numbering fifteen. The SGF is also a creation of Section 171 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended. The Powers and functions of the SGF important and relevant in the instant case include: serving as (a) Secretary to the Council of State or Federal Executive Council, (b) coordinating the activities of Ministries and Government Agencies on the implementation of Government decisions, policies and programs, in addition to dealing with constitutional, political and socio-economic matters as may be referred to by the Presidency; and (c) coordinating Administrative Tribunals (or Investigation Board), Commissions and Panels of Enquiry; and national security and safety matters.”

Continuing, Intersociety said: “The ‘Joint Investigation Board’ under request is not ‘a Commission of Enquiry’ or ‘a Judicial Commission of Enquiry’, which is or are ‘toothless bulldog’ and ‘time wasting’. Ours is ‘a Joint Investigation Board’ with ‘criminal elements’ and ‘civil elements’ content and functionality; to be subdivided into ‘criminal’ and ‘civil’ investigations sub boards. Members of the ‘criminal investigation sub board’ shall be drawn (not monopolize) from ‘DMI’, ‘SSS’, ‘Force CID’, ‘Office of the National Security Adviser’ and ‘the Police Service Commission’ and may further include ‘civil’ or independent criminologists, criminal lawyers, ‘crime investigative journalists’ and intelligence experts.

“The ‘criminal’ investigation sub board shall have specific task of ascertaining ‘criminal involvements and their degrees’ by ‘service’ and ‘civil’ parties. ’Service’ Parties to be thoroughly investigated include the Anambra State Commissioner of Police (John Abang), the Oraifite Area Commander (Oliver I. Inoma-Abbey), the Oraifite DPO (CSP Alexander Chigozie Onwuka), the OC/SARS, Ichi (ASP Joseph Akubo), the Commander of Onitsha 302 Artillery (Brig Gen Yukubu Bwala) and all the Police and Army sub commanders and combatants that participated in the mayhem.

“The ‘civil’ parties and circumstances to be investigated or ascertained include (a) the Otu-Eke and the Otu-Afor Oraifite Masquerade clash/violence of Saturday, 30^th Nov 2019 (from where the Police first allegations of: ‘abduction’, ‘assault occasioning body harm’ and ‘malicious damage to properties’ emanated), (b) Emeka Offor (mentioned and indicted in the Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor’s petition to the Nigerian Bar Association and important others), (c) Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor (the chief victim), (d) domestic staff and volunteers left in the Ejiofors’ compound to tidy up the compound and items used during the family’s funeral ceremony, (e) Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor’s elder brother, Evangelist Emeka Ejiofor (the key eyewitness) and (f) other eyewitnesses who may volunteer to speak or can be independently identified.

“Others are (g) circumstances surrounding the ‘service’ killing of no fewer than four defenseless citizens in the Ejiofors’ compound and the whereabouts of their corpses, (h) claims by the Police of killing of ACP Oliver Inoma-Abbey and ASP Joseph Akubo including whether truly they were killed and if true, when, where and how they were they killed; and the whereabouts of their bodies, (i) true identities of the two unidentified citizens killed and set ablaze in a police van, stage-managed and dramatized by the Police hundreds of meters away from Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor’s compound and the ‘service’ identities of those who killed and set them ablaze, (j) properties burnt or destroyed and the ‘service’ identities of those who burnt or destroyed them, (k) the remote and immediate circumstances surrounding the early morning and late morning surveillance and violent invasions of the Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor’s family compound by the Oraifite Area Commander and his DPO; later joined to perpetrate the unspeakable mayhem by the Ichi SARS operatives, their OC and others including soldiers of the Onitsha Army Cantonment.

“The ‘civil investigation sub board’ shall have responsibility to unmask the ‘civil elements or involvements’ in the unspeakable mayhem including number of properties such as dwelling houses, street trading stores, house-hold properties, domestic livestock and automobiles burnt or destroyed; extent of their burning or destruction, location(s) and ownership of the burnt or destroyed properties, their current market value, ‘service’ and civil persons or parties (if any) openly involved, persons or authorities to be responsible for their rebuilding or replacement or compensation, and any other such civil findings necessary. Members of the ‘civil’ investigation sub board shall be drawn from Your Honor’s Office and others; the standing oversight committees in the Senate and the House of Reps including Police, National Security, Defense, Army, Intelligence and justice.

“What Must Be Done With The Joint Investigation Outcomes

“Unlike the ‘toothless bull dog’ patterns and trends associated with ‘Administrative’ or ‘Judicial Panels or Commissions of Inquiry’ in Nigeria or any part thereof, the Joint Investigation Board of our preference shall have their outcomes perused, separated and divided into ‘criminal findings’ and ‘civil findings’. All the ‘service persons or authorities’ criminally indicted no matter how highly placed must be arrested, disengaged from their ‘service agencies’ and prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation.

“The ‘civil findings’, on the other hand, shall address the issues of rebuilding all the burnt properties or commensurate monetary compensations to their owners; written apologies to the wronged including the chief victim (Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor) and all members of his nuclear and extended family so affected, adequate compensations to the families of the slain and the wounded as well as incorporation of the lessons learnt into the country’s operational security and safety policies particularly the now ‘routinized’ ‘service’ wanton burning or destruction of properties belonging to members of the public on account of allegation of death of ‘service’ officers in the line of their illegitimate or otherwise duties. To ensure maximum success, we are ready to assist where necessary particularly to ensure fair hearing and fair treatment for all the parties involved.

“In our second letter to the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Intersociety strongly demanded for thorough and impartial investigation of the involvement(s) and roles of the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP John Abang, the Oraifite Area Commander, ACP Oliver Inoma-Abbey, the Divisional Police Officer of the Oraifite Divisional Police Station, CSP Alexander Chigozie Onwuka, the Officer-in-Charge of the Ichi Unit of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), ASP Joseph Akubo and other police officers who vicariously or directly participated in the catastrophic Mayhem. They shall be investigated and sanctioned, if culpable, whether living or dead.”

For full details, the links to the two letters are here: (a) http://www.intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/502-demanding-for-a-joint-investigation-board-into-the-oraifite-anambra-police--military-mayhem-of-2nd-dec-2019 and (b) http://www.intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/503-1