You extorted my client, took away cars, watches, phones – Evans’ Lawyer accuses Police
According to PUNCH, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, counsel to the
alleged billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a. Evans, has
petitioned the Police Service Commission, calling for the probe of the
policemen who handled the case of his client.
Ogungbeje,
in a petition dated October 13, 2017, alleged that members of the
Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, which handled the case,
abused their position to extort his client.
According
to him, the team of police investigators led by Mr. Abba Kyari, an Assistant
Commissioner of Police, “forcefully and corruptly extorted” from Evans cash in
local and foreign currency as well as various items including phones, wrist
watches, jewellery, television, cars and trucks.
Ogungbeje claimed that the policemen forcefully took N50m
from Evans, while his wife was also forced to part with another N5m.
The lawyer claimed that a sum of $10,000
was also forcefully taken from the suspect by the police.
Other items allegedly taken from
Evans by the police, according to Ogungbeje, are a Brigade wrist watch, valued
at $117; a pendant cross, worth $70,000; a necklace, worth $25,000; a Virtu
phone, worth $30,000; a Virtu Signature phone, valued at $17,000; and five
pieces of Saphono Ruccu diamond rings worth $100,000.
Ogungbeje also claimed that the
policemen also removed and took away the 85 inches Samsung television set,
worth N6.5m in Evans’ apartment.
Other items were 25 Mark trucks; a
Lexus 470 jeep; a Grand Cherokee jeep; a L400 Mitsubishi Bus and a gold-colour
Toyota Highlander jeep.
Apart from Kyari, the other police
officers mentioned in Ogungbeje’s petition are ASP Phillip Rieninwa, who was
specifically accused of obtaining $10,000 from the kidnap suspect; ASP Sunny
Ubua; ASP Emmanuel Ali; Inspector Idowu Haruna; Inspector Egunjobi Segun and
“other policemen attached to the IGP Intelligence Response Team.”
The lawyer also alleged that
Evans’ girlfriend, one Amaka Offor, “was roundly sexually molested and abused
by the above policemen of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response
Team.”
The petition, captioned, “The
Evans case and saga: Brazen extortion, corruption, gross misconduct, sexual
molestation, and human rights violation against the IGP Intelligence Response
Team police officer and policemen,” demanded the probe, sanction and possible
dismissal of the accused policemen.
Ogungbeje said in the petition
addressed to the Chairman of the Police Service Commission that, “It is very
unfortunate that the above-named police officers and policemen could be
involved in such gross misconduct and indiscipline in taking advantage of a
criminal suspect in their custody to perpetrate high-level extortion,
corruption, gross misconduct, indiscipline and sexual molestation.
“Sir, you would agree with us that
these allegations are too weighty to be ignored by any right-thinking Nigerian.
There is no gainsaying the fact that it calls for prompt investigation, inquiry
and appropriate sanctions. We are using this medium as our own way of
galvanising institutional sanity, cleansing and reform in the Nigeria Police
Force as an institution.
“At this juncture, we do not
intend to jump the gun or draw conclusions on these high-wire allegations
against the above-mentioned police officers and policemen by our client. We are
only calling for prompt investigation or inquiry on all the police officers and
policemen involved in this whole saga.
“From the foregoing, we urge you,
sir, to constitute a special investigation and enquiry panel to investigate
this monumental extortion, corruption, gross misconduct, indiscipline, sexual
abuse and Human rights violation against all the police officers and policemen
of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team.
“We also demand that you use the
auspices of the Police Service Commission as an oversight agency of the Nigeria
Police Force to invoke appropriate sanctions including dismissal against the
culpable police officers and policemen.
“We have great confidence in your
ability to deal with this matter no matter whose ox is gored.”
The petitioned was copied to the
Senate President; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the Chairman of
the National Human Rights Commission; and Director of Amnesty International.
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