- Says he escaped with a bleeding head injury
A Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, Cornelius Agbo, on Monday, narrated before the Independent Investigative Panel on human rights violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, and other Units of the Nigeria Police Force, sitting in Abuja, how he was almost lynched for defecating in a bush.
DSP Agbo told the 11-member panel headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Suleiman Galadima, that he was attacked by six men who he said repeatedly struck him on the head with objects.
He said the assault, which interrupted his defecation in a bush at Durumi District in Abuja, occurred sometime in 2013.
Agbo’s testimony was in response to a petition that was filed by one Tony Duchi and seven other Complainants from Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, alleging that the Police unlawfully tortured, detained and imprisoned them based on their ethnic origin.
Police had earlier charged the Petitioners with conspiracy, assault and theft, for which they were arrested and arraigned in court.
However, in the petition before the panel, the Complainants told the panel that on the day they were arrested, a team of policemen stormed their residential houses in Durumi, Abuja, shooting sporadically to their utter surprise.
They averred that apart from the gunshots, arrests were made by the police, adding that “virtually all the people arrested were youths from Southern Kaduna, except few people from Idoma in Benue state”.
According to them, while the arrest was being made by the police, “One Inspector Cornelius Agbo (now properly identified by Police legal team as DSP Cornelius Agbo) mentioned Southern Kaduna people like those he is targeting to deal with”.
Meanwhile, in his evidence before the panel, DSP Agbo, who said that he is currently serving at MOPOL 29 Awka, Anambra state, insisted that he was brutally assaulted by the Complainants while he was serving at the FCT Police command.
He said it all started when he went to fix his car at a mechanic workshop located at Durumi, Abuja, and he had a bowel movement that made him inquire from his mechanic, one Uche if there was a Rest Room nearby, to which the mechanic replied in the negative.
The witness said since there was no handy toilet facility in the environment, he decided to make use of the nearby bush as he was directed by his mechanic, without knowing that danger in form of assault was waiting for him.
He told the panel that while he was defecating in the bush, three men wielding sticks suddenly accosted him and started hitting him on his head, which resulted in serious bleeding.
According to the witness, while the hitting intensified, he took to his heels to save his life.
He said in his bid to escape, he, unfortunately, ran into another set of three men that also took their turn in beating him with wood.
In the end, he said he managed to escape without his car and visited a Pharmacy where his injury was treated.
Thereafter, the witness said he headed home and subsequently reported the ordeal that befell him, the next morning, at Garki Police station.
He said upon reporting the incident to the police, the DPO mobilised a patrol team to effect arrest where he was allegedly attacked.
DSP Agbo said, himself, alongside his mechanic, were able to identify those that attacked him, leading to their arrest and detention at Garki police station in Abuja.
He also informed the panel that the suspects were subsequently charged at Wuse Zone 6 Chief Magistrate Court in Abuja before he was transferred to Awka, Anambra state.
DSP Agbo said he did not know to eventually follow up on the outcome of the case as no one called him in respect of the matter.
Meantime, Police lawyer, Fidelis Ogwobe, who led him in his testimony before the panel, asked the witness whether he shot sporadically when the incident occurred or caused the eight complainants to be tortured by SARS.
Responding, Agbo said he was not with any gun while he visited the mechanic workshop and therefore could not have shot sporadically as claimed by the Complainants.
He added that though he works with SARS, he did not report the case to SARS and that he rather reported it to the Garki police station.
He, therefore, denied the allegation of torture by SARS as made by the Complainants.
While being cross-examined by Counsel to the Complainants, Simon Yusuf, the witness, said he could no longer remember if he ever made testimonies before a Chief Magistrate Court in Karu, even though Yusuf informed the panel that he (DSP Agbo) testified before the aforesaid court in respect of the matter.
Yusuf also told the panel that DSP Agbo had informed the court that the eight suspects were not those who assaulted him and that they were mere victims of circumstance.
The witness however denied the claim before the panel.
Counsel to the Complainant informed the panel that his clients were first taken to a police station in Nasarawa state where they were allegedly tortured before they were later transferred to Garki police station in Abuja following his protest.
The panel adjourned the matter till November 30 for the continuation of defence.
Source: Vanguard
