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Opinion/Feature

Police Brutality: Two Years After ENDSARS Extra-judicial Killings Continue

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2 years ago

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Bolanle Raheem, Toba Adedeji, Gafaru Buraimoh, Other Victims Of Police Shootings In 2022

 

There appears to be no end in sight to the extra-judicial killings, highhandedness and brutalization of citizens by some members of the Nigerian Police Force despite calls for its reform leading to a nation-wide protest led by majorly the youths, for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad; a unit in the Force created to tackle robbery among other crimes.

 

The protesters launched the #EndSARS campaign and raised five key demands which included the abolition of the squad, immediate release of arrested protesters; justice for victims of police brutality, establishment of an independent body to investigate police misconduct and salary increase for cops.

 

On October 11, 2020, the Federal Government announced the disbandment of SARS. But there were still claims that officers of the disbanded police unit in service still patrol streets in plainclothes, extorting, arresting and torturing citizens without reason.

 

Two years later, extrajudicial killings have yet to abate. In fact, the highhandedness and brutality of the police have increased with even more families grieving over the senseless killing of their loved ones.

 

Saturday PUNCH chronicles 10 victims of police shootings and events leading to some of the extrajudicial killings across the country in 2022.

 

Bolanle Raheem

 

On December 25, 2022, a cop attached to the Ajah Police Station shot dead a 41-year-old pregnant lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, under the Ajah Bridge, in the presence of her husband.

 

Mrs Raheem, her sister, husband and four children were said to be coming from an eatery after leaving church, in their car around 11am when the cop stopped them. Reports noted that her husband was trying to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge when the trigger-happy cop shot at the vehicle.

 

The bullet hit the pregnant lawyer who was said to have been pregnant with twins and she was confirmed dead at the hospital she was rushed to. The killer cop is an Assistant Superintendent of Police identified as Drambi Vandi.

 

Gafaru Buraimoh

The death of Buraimoh is also linked to the cops at the Ajah Police Division.

 

Buraimoh, a resident of Happy Estate in Ajah, was hit by a stray bullet at about 10pm while coming out of SkyMall on December 7, 2022 by a police inspector attached to the police station.

 

It was learnt that the shooting that led to Buraimoh’s death occurred during a raid of black market fuel sellers at the Ajiwe gas station by the police. However, trouble reared its head when the cops attempted to impound a black marketer’s fuel but he allegedly resisted. “His resistance angered the officers who started shooting indiscriminately,” narrated Buraimoh’s brother, Muyideen.

 

Reacting to the incident, spokesperson for the state police, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “At About 2330hrs (11:30p.m) of Tuesday, December 6, 2022, a shooting incident involving men of Ajah Division, resulted in the unfortunate death of Gafaru Buraimoh of Happy Land Estate, Ajah. “The officer behind the shooting, an inspector of police was immediately disarmed and has been detained as a full-scale investigation has commenced.’’ However, the identity of the cops were not revealed.

 

Igwe Odinaka and Chikere Obieche

 

The duo of Odinaka and Obieche were two businessmen killed on April 24, 2022, by a drunk cop at a friend’s birthday party in a hotel bar at the Gowon Estate in Lagos State.

 

The two businessmen who dealt in phone accessories at the Ikeja Computer Village, were hit by gunshots from a cop said to be showing off and trying to impress the birthday host when he mistakenly fired gunshots into the guests who were dancing.

 

Despite the promise of the Lagos police spokesperson that “those responsible will not go scot free,” the promise didn’t see the light of the day.

 

Koleosho Abayomi

Abayomi is a security guard at the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II, in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. He was shot by a police officer enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations in Lagos on September 28, 2022. He was however fortunate to have survived.

 

The cop, alongside three colleagues attached to the Ogombo Police Station, stormed the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II to enforce the government’s ban on motorcycle operations on the estate when the incident happened. Reacting to the incident, the state police spokesperson confirmed the incident, including payment of Abayomi’s hospital bills. The identity of the cop was however not revealed.

 

Paul Durowaiye

On January 22, 2022, Durowaiye was killed by a cop whose N20 sachet water he drank in Kogi State.

 

An eyewitness revealed that Durowaiye was alleged to have taken a sachet of “pure water” belonging to the policeman from the latter’s car to drink before he met his untimely death.

 

Reacting to the development, Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka, confirmed the incident, saying a preliminary report from the Area Commander indicated that the accused cop only tried to defend himself when he had an altercation with the victim.

 

Also, the identity of the killer cop was not revealed.

 

Godsent Obhafuoso

Obhafuoso was killed by a cop on August 13, 2022 during the burial of his employer’s late mother in the Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

 

While the victim was reportedly doing a video recording of the party and assisting his employer to gather the money being sprayed on him, the policeman allegedly fired gunshots which hit a cameraman and Obhafuoso, who was pronounced dead at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.

 

Though the state Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, confirmed the incident, the policeman involved had yet to be brought to book and the family of the victim was seeking help of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, for his prosecution.

 

Oliver Ezra Barawani

Barawani, a graduate of Taraba State University, was driving with his boss, Liu, a LG chairman, before he was killed by a policeman on June 4, 2022.

 

According to a Facebook user, Abainitus Hamman, the victim was allegedly shot by a cop at a checkpoint in Kpanti Napo near Jalingo. He wrote, “Oliver Ezra Gone too Soon! He was shot by a police officer at a checkpoint in Kpanti Napo, near the city of Jalingo. Until his death, he was a graduate of Taraba State University.

 

“Oliver Ezra was brutally killed for nothing. He was driving alongside the executive chairman of Lau LGA between Lakaviri and Jalingo. He was unarmed, innocent, and calm. Nigerian Police brutality has continued unabated! Instead of them dealing with the rising criminals in society, they kill innocent Nigerians.’’ The state police neither reacted to the incident nor revealed the identity of the killer cop.

 

Emmanuel Joseph

Joseph, an All Progressives Congress Ward Seven youth leader in Calabar South, Calabar State, was killed by a trigger-happy police officer on May 27, 2022.

 

The incident occurred at the venue of the party’s primary – Cultural Centre, Calabar. The incident started when Saviour Nyong and Deputy Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Joseph Bassey, who were the two leading aspirants, arrived at the venue with their supporters.

 

The two aspirants began to exchange words and threatened themselves in a rowdy manner leading to the invitation of the Anti-cultism/Kidnapping officers who came and started firing bullets. Joseph was said to have been shot directly in the chest by a cop suspected to be the commander of the unit.

 

A source said after he was shot, the officer allegedly threw teargas canisters to disperse the people, covered the bloodstains on the ground with sand, and fled with his corpse into their office. In this case also, the police did not react to the incident nor disclose the cop’s identity.

 

Toba Adedeji

Adedeji, a journalist, was covering a protest when he was shot by a trigger-happy cop in Osogbo, Osun State, on May 23, 2022.

 

A group of youths converged on a bridge in the Olaiya area of the city on April 11, 2022, to protest against the alleged extrajudicial killing of a youth by a policeman.

 

The protesters reportedly blocked the road and prevented vehicular movement, chanting protest songs and demanding justice for the victim whose funeral was being performed.

 

About 30 minutes into the protest, cops reportedly stormed the scene and shot into the crowd and journalists covering the protest in order to disperse them. The state police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, said the Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, had ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the alleged shooting of Adedeji.

 

Emeka Uwalaka

Uwalaka, a National Diploma Civil Engineering student of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, was shot on July 11, 2022, by a policeman attached to the Nekede Police Division.

 

Uwalaka was said to be returning from church that Sunday afternoon when the cop shot at him with the bullet hitting the student’s hostel (BenJen lodge) gate in Umuokomoche, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State. However, the police didn’t release any press statement on the incident.

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Opinion/Feature

Downstream Deregulation: Between Obasanjo’s Half-measures And Tinubu’s Bold Leadership

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2 months ago

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October 28, 2024

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By Temitope Ajayi
A video of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview with News Central Television has been trending on social media platforms for the past week. In the interview, the former President, in a veiled reference to the current administration, said Nigeria has a President who came into office without a plan. Yet, the same ‘planless’ president is implementing a bold economic reform programme that Obasanjo initiated and abandoned mid-way.
This intervention is essentially about a tale of two leaders and how they both handled fuel subsidy removal, a very touchy issue every president of Nigeria has avoided since 1973 because of its disruptive nature and potential to precipitate a pushback that may lead to civil unrest. This serious matter in itself can make a difference between a bold and courageous leader from one that is pretentious and hesitant.
It is a fact of history that one of the things former President Obasanjo set out to do, among other reforms his administration embarked upon, was complete deregulation of the downstream oil industry. But hard as he tried, he failed to actualise it. Obasanjo faced so much opposition from organised labour and civil society groups that he abandoned a good policy that would have led to massive economic gains for the country. All he could muster the courage to do was to raise the pump price four times during his two-term tenure.
Twenty years after Obasanjo failed to implement complete downstream deregulation, President Bola Tinubu had the courage of his conviction to implement the policy, redirect the economy, and ensure efficiency in the management of public finance.
Despite his foibles and messianic complex, former President Obasanjo is no doubt a remarkable leader. His administration opened the economy and implemented essential reforms that his immediate successor should have continued with. What most critics find offensive about the former president is how he sees himself as the only saviour God created for Nigeria. As far as he is concerned, no other leader before and after him has been good enough. For context and clarity, it is essential to recall the former president’s position on deregulating the downstream oil sector when he was in charge.
In a national broadcast on October 8, 2003, President Obasanjo expressed his frustration and anger at the Nigeria Labour Congress for its opposition to the deregulation of the downstream sector to the point of accusing labour leaders of sedition thus:
“As you are aware, my government has embarked on fundamental reforms designed to depart from the waste and unproductive exercises of the past and leave lasting legacies for the prosperity and improved welfare and well-being of all Nigerians. Since 1999, we have gradually but steadily embarked on the programme of liberalisation and deregulation of the Nigerian economy to promote efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. Most Nigerians and certainly all organised key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, have endorsed the deregulation programme of government.
“It is a fitting symbol of our administration’s commitment to the welfare of workers and in an effort to cushion the effects of deregulation that the government provided 80 buses to the NLC in 2002. The transliner buses were delivered to the Congress for management without government interference. It is noteworthy that every step taken to deregulate the downstream oil sector has been dogged by, sometimes, irresponsible opposition by the Labour Congress. The result has been that we took too little steps to achieve no meaningful and satisfactory progress. We have tolerated all of these in the interest of promoting popular dialogue and informed dissent.
“Let me inform Nigerians that when government first came up with the deregulation programme, it was endorsed by the NLC and other stakeholders. In fact, the NLC had requested that we call it a “liberalisation” programme. It was thus more a matter of label than of substance. If we had been successful in implementing the deregulation or liberalisation of the downstream oil sector as earlier agreed by all stakeholders, including labour, we would not have been worrying about the periodic and unsatisfactory price-fixing which has led no where except to frustration. The failure to fully deregulate or liberalise has also cost Nigerians billions of naira which are currently wasted on millions of man-hours in queues at the petrol stations.
“The tens of billions of naira currently being lost in money that could have been used to increase capital spending in the universities, fund agriculture, repair and rehabilitate our roads, invest in education and health, improve security with extra police for security of lives and property.
“Realising that the investment of well over $400 million (excluding pipelines and depots) in the last six years mostly on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) and repairs had not improved the performance of the refineries significantly, government had decided that it was unwise to put additional money into the repair of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries before privatising them.
“What most Nigerians must know is that the contracts for the Turn Around Maintenance for the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries were awarded with 50% of the cost paid upfront before the advent of this administration in 1999. Allow me to add that two of the three refinery locations in the country today, were built by my administration as military head of state. This means that if for no other reason, I should be interested in keeping them working. Already, 18 private firms have been licensed to build refineries but they have been reluctant to go into the industry because of Government’s price control in the sector.
“If only 30% of these firms had been able to establish and operate private refineries, thousands of jobs would have been created and Nigeria would have been in a position to even export refined oil products. All these benefits and more have been denied to Nigerians by the stop-go approach to the deregulation or liberalisation programme, and only a few Nigerians are benefiting from the prevailing government-controlled system. In fact, the NLC’s approach has been counter-productive, and inflicted more pains on Nigerian workers. Each time there is a small increase of three naira or more, transporters have used the opportunity to jerk up transportation cost thereby making the ordinary worker poorer.
“A once-and-for-all total deregulation would have meant a once-and-for-all increase in transport cost and the pump price for petroleum products. Without a doubt, a once-and-for-all total deregulation would have resolved the problem of availability and thus bring down prices for those outside Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and their environs who have always paid much more than the official posted price. Pump prices arising from the present total deregulation would, in reality, amount to a reduction in prices of majority of Nigerians.”
Interestingly, excerpts from the 2003 national broadcast by President Obasanjo present a contrast between the former leader and President Tinubu. They also showcase two leadership visions. One leader saw the need to fight for the country’s long-term sustainability but chickened out because he lacked the courage to upset the status quo. Two decades later, another leader saw the damage the failure to make the right economic decision had caused the country. He decided to correct it to avert a looming calamity. While former President Obasanjo left the most challenging task of his presidency undone, President Tinubu tackled head-on what has become an existential threat to our collective well-being from his first day in office. He has remained focused on the bigger picture.
President Tinubu recognises the burden of leadership and responsibility he bears on behalf of Nigerians. In discharging this burden, he knew from day one that he would have to make the right but unpopular decisions that would ultimately serve the best interest of the country and her people.
It is certainly not correct to say this president came to the office without a plan. President Tinubu came into the office with a clear plan titled “Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria.” It was a well-thought-out programme, with which he canvassed for votes across the country and was elected by our people.
In the past 17 months, he has remained faithful to the document as he implements the distilled eight-point agenda.
At the heart of President Tinubu’s economic revitalisation is gas development and expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure to enable Nigeria to compete with Russia in the European markets. In fairness to him, former President Obasanjo himself recently lamented he did not pay adequate attention to gas during his term of office.
Expanding the pool of available talents and human capital through granting of loans to young Nigerians who are the future of the country to enable them acquire tertiary or vocational education is part of the plans that propelled Tinubu into office. Consumer credit initiative that will promote local production and further stimulate the economy is also high on Tinubu’s action plan. To the President’s credit, these two important policy initiatives among several others are being implemented through NELFUND and Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp).
If there is one President of Nigeria that came prepared and well armed with a clear cut plan to reposition the country across sectors for better outcomes, that President, undoubtedly, is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
-Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity
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Opinion/Feature

UNCOMMON SCHOLAR, EXCEPTIONAL ADMINISTRATOR: MY TRIBUTE TO PROF. OLOYEDE AT 70

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3 months ago

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October 9, 2024

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By President Bola Tinubu

As Professor Ishaq Oloyede turns 70 tomorrow, October 10, I pay a special tribute to this astute administrator, educator, author, and scholar, currently the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar.

As the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Oloyede’s invaluable contributions to the nation through academia and public-sector administration have significantly impacted the academic community.

ALSO READ: Tinubu Congratulates Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu On Her Election As President, UICC

His impactful tenure at the University of Ilorin, during which he introduced landmark ideas and innovations that helped the institution attain enviable heights, is on record.

Through patriotic dedication and commitment to his craft, Prof Oloyede imparted knowledge and character to thousands of students who underwent his teaching during his glorious and impactful academic career.

Indeed, the bedrock of development lies in education. Developing nations, including Nigeria, are in dire need of more scholars like Prof. Oloyede. His selfless sacrifices and innovative approaches to learning and leadership give hope for a brighter future.

Perhaps more remarkable is Prof. Oloyede’s transformative leadership at JAMB. He pioneered and sustained a series of reforms and technological innovations that have made the admission process in Nigeria transparent and credible.

In his eight years of stewardship at the board, thus far, Prof. Oloyede has demonstrated an uncommon commitment to financial integrity and accountability in public service. He has also raised the bar in administration and management.

I am proud of Prof. Oloyede’s accomplishments.

The nation owes the Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence a debt of gratitude for transforming JAMB, traditionally a non-revenue-generating government agency, into a consistent contributor to the national treasury through efficient financial management. His contributions to JAMB are invaluable and greatly appreciated.

On this occasion of his 70th birthday, I join members of the academic community, students, JAMB staff, and well-wishers in celebrating this scholar who, in words and deeds, has also done a lot to propagate the Islamic religion.

I pray that Almighty Allah will continue to honour the distinguished professor with health, wisdom and strength to serve the nation for many more years.

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Opinion/Feature

Clarification On NNPCL Refinery Operations

Published

3 months ago

on

October 9, 2024

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By Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri PhD

My attention has been drawn to statements made by Engr. Kamoru Busari, Director of Upstream in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who represented me at a recent conference in Lagos. I wish to categorically state that the claim that I directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to stop running its own refineries and focus solely on equity participation in other refineries is false. This does not represent my position as Minister overseeing the oil sector, nor does it reflect the stance of the Federal Government.

It is important to clarify that NNPCL is a company governed under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), with a functional board and management. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not control or run NNPCL, as it operates independently like any corporate entity.

ALSO READ: NNPC/Seplat JV’s “Eye Can See” Programme Restores Vision, Hope In Imo

The oil and gas sector is fully deregulated, and the Nigerian government remains committed to promoting in-country refining. We encourage companies, including NNPCL, to operate independently, following global best practices. While we provide strategic guidance, we do not interfere directly in the operations of these companies.

I reaffirm our commitment to supporting the growth and independence of NNPCL, ensuring that its operations are in line with international standards for efficiency and transparency and profitability.

Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri PhD, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), wrote from Abuja, Nigeria

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