A police lawyer, Fidelis Ogbobe, on Wednesday, told 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) the police could detain a capital offence suspect beyond 24 hours.
Ogbobe made the submission orally in the police final address before the 11-man panel headed by Justice Suleiman Galadima (retd) in a petition filed by Francis Ogbaji, alleging arbitrary detention, torture, cruel inhuman and degrading treatment.
Ogbaji joined the defunct SARS, FCT, ACP Mantu of State CID FCT, DPO Central police station, Federal Secretariat, Abuja, Commissioner of Police FCT and the Inspector General of Police as respondents in the petition, marked 2020/IIP-SARS/ABJ/15.
Making his submission before the panel, Ogbobe argued that the allegation against the petitioner leading to his arrest by the police was armed robbery, which by the provision of Section 1(2)(b) of the Robbery and Fire Arm Special Provision Act was a capital office.
The counsel for the police further submitted that by Section 35(7) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ogbaji’s allegation of been detained for 35 days did not substantiate any breach of his rights.
“Detention of a suspect not beyond 24 hours does not apply in a capital offence,” Ogbobe told the panel.
While urging the panel to dismiss the petition, Ogbobe said the position of the police was that the petitioner had failed woefully to prove allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against him.
He added that “there is no medical report in support of the allegation before the panel,” submitting that Ogbaji failed to comply with Sections 131 and 133 of the Evidence Act.
Earlier, counsel for the petitioner, Nnaemeka Duru, while adopting his written address urged the panel to grant the reliefs sought by Ogbaji.
The petitioner, who claimed he was a security guard at Bayelsa House in Abuja, had in his petition, alleged that unlawful detention and torture by some police operatives.
According to him, his ordeal in the hands of the police started on April 11, 2020 when he and three other colleagues of his were invited to the Central Police Station, Federal Secretariat, Abuja, following a report of theft of a television set, banner, refrigerator and some documents from one of the offices in the building they were guarding.
Ogbaji informed the panel that on arrival at the station, they were detained by the DPO as suspects for the missing items.
He alleged that despite applying for his bail and meeting the conditions attached, the DPO transferred their case file to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the FCT Police Command, Garki, Abuja and he was subsequently detained at the SARS facility at Abattoir on the order of ACP Mantu of SCID FCT.
He further alleged that, “I suffered untold hardship as a result of the detention. I lost my job,” he said and urged the panel to compel the police to write an apology letter to him to prove that he was innocent.
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Police can detain capital offence suspect beyond 24 hours, lawyer tells NHRC panel