The family of Senator Kabiru Gaya has appealed to the Nigeria Police and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to speedily investigate the alleged murder of their son, Barrister Abdul Gaya and bring the perpetrators of the act to justice.
The family, in a petition signed by its lawyer, Hebo-Albert Ekito Afred, of the Chambers of Halima I. Alfa and Associates asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba Usman to re-arrest those earlier fingered in connection to the alleged murder of their son.
The lawyer alleged that some of the suspects, including the son of a former clerk of the National Assembly, Abdul Omolori were arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory but on different charges from the offence of culpable homicide and were granted bail.
The petitioner, on behalf of the deceased family and friends, called on the Police authority to re-arrest those arrested earlier and “wrongly released” to avert a repeat of the offence and for the sake of justice.
The lawyer to the deceased family, who queried the release of the alleged suspects said, murder is a very serious crime and should be a reason for denial of bail by any judge, adding that, those accused of murder, rape, kidnapping or any other serious crime should be held behind bars or have very high bail conditions.
He said a case of murder involving a man of means is a recipe for possible disappearance after making bail and being released from jail, he added, “The last thing a Judge wants is to let someone loose and then have the Police be forced to go and find them later.”
“In this case, the accused were arraigned for a different offence and Judges are empowered to act on facts before the court, which makes the Police complicit. The life and safety of witnesses are at risk and the evidence against the accused can be tempered within the last 48 hours of the wrongful release of an accused for a crime of possible homicide”, he added.
The lawyer said findings revealed that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) only requested a further investigation by the Police on key issues raised by the family of the deceased on the testimony of the eye witness present at the scene of the murder, the record of the alleged withdrawal of the sum of N3.8 million by Abdul Omolori from the deceased account before he was allegedly killed and the fact that Abdul and his co-accused were arraigned before an Abuja High Court on a different charge from the offence of culpable homicide and granted bail based on what was before the Judge, among others.
“We call on the Police and the DPP to avert this ill by re-arresting all those who were previously arrested and wrongly released in connection with the death of Sadiq Gaya so they stand trial to determine their innocence before they can be allowed to join the larger society for the safety of all”.
Also, the Principal Partner of Halima Chambers, Dr Halima Gaya, while addressing the press, alleged that the quick release of the suspects was due to Police complicity in the matter.
According to her, it was an aberration that suspects of a murder case could be released in a such quick manner.