The independent investigative panel on human rights violations by the defunct SARS and other police units set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday ordered the Chairman of the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), to produce the embattled former commander of IGP-Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari, before the panel on the March 22.
The representative of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on the panel, John Aikpokpo Martins, who presided over yesterday’s sitting, on behalf of the Chairman, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd).
The panel further ordered the new IGP-IRT commander, Tunde Disu to do the needful with a view to ensuring that Abba Kyari, who he succeeded in office, is produced before the panel on the aforesaid date.
The orders were made at the resumed hearing by the panel of the petition filed by the families of the trio of Yakubu Danjuma, Ibrahim Daniel and Choji Dung.
The families of the missing persons in the petition marked 2020/IIP-SARS/ABJ/205, alleged that the victims were arrested and detained in December 2019 by the police and to date their whereabouts remain unknown.
Danjuma, Daniel and Dung were absent at today’s sitting despite the panel’s order issued on Tuesday, March 8 directing the Office of the Inspector General of Police to unfailingly produce the three victims before it yesterday.
Counsel for the panel, Halilu Adamu, informed the panel that Abba Kyari was in the custody of the NDLEA, which was corroborated by the lead police counsel, James Idachaba, who said the police could no longer produce Kyari since he was no longer in their custody having been suspended.
Giving the orders, the panel’s acting chairman declared that Abba Kyari’s presence before the panel was very necessary, considering the fact that a petitioner witness had earlier testified that the embattled super cop had allegedly promised to reach out to him (witness) in respect of the missing persons and till date, nothing had been heard about them.
Earlier in today’s proceedings at the panel, Idachaba informed the panel that he personally made some efforts to produce the case file in respect of the matter from the IGP-IRT office.
He further informed that he went to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and lamented that to date he was yet to get details of the whereabouts of the three persons in question.
According to Idachaba, the disbandment of IRT somehow affected their search for the three victims, adding that all the officers of the defunct IRT have been transferred to different police commands.
Nonetheless, he promised that he would still do the necessary things within his powers with a view to ensuring that documents and information about the missing persons are supplied to the panel.
Tribune Online reports that before the panel’s order, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Gudu, Abuja, had ordered the release of the three persons whose whereabouts remain unknown. However, the order has yet to be carried out.
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