Police Chief, Others Dragged to Court over Threat to Life

By Emmanuel Edom

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim K. Idris, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Mr Ibrahim Adamu and five others have been dragged to a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, over alleged acts amounting to threatening of life.

Others joined in the suit marked as FHC/L/CS/95/2018 are the officer in charge of Zone 2 Command Monitoring Unit, Mr. GbonahanOlugbemi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, (CSP), MrIfeanyiNwokolobia, MrsRoselineNwokolobia, Helen Oluba, Tina Atubi and one Ego.

The Applicant, Mrs Josephine Onome Dickson, who sued on behalf of her family through her lawyer’s, MessrsNnaemekaAmaechina and TiawoAdegbite, had in her affidavit of urgency under the enforcement of her fundamental rights to life, Dignity of Human person, personal liberty and privacy as guaranteed under the 1999 constitution, urged the Court to intervene and save her from the actions of the respondents.

In the suit dated 28th January, 2018, the applicant, Mrs Josephine Onome Dickson, who slammed the N30 million suit against the Respondents, is asking for a declaration from the court that the refusal of the AIG to approve her petition dated December 20th, 2017 and his subsequent approval of Nwokolobia’s complaint, constitutes a breach of her fundamental right to freedom from discrimination as prescribed in sections 42 of the 1999 constitution and Article 28 of the African charter on Human and People’s Rights.

She also urged the Court to declare that the actions of Nwokolobia’s and his cohorts of luring her to their house, her subsequent forced imprisonment for hours and physical assault constitutes a breach of her rights to personal liberty, and freedom of movement.

Other declarations sought by Mrs Dickson was that the alleged recruitment of some armed persons to eliminate her, caused her apprehension and constitutes to breach of her rights to life.

She appealed to the court to restrain the AIG and officer’s under him from investigating all complaints connected with the matter, she also sought for a restraint of Nwokolobia and other respondents from further infringing on her rights to life, human dignity, personnel liberty and freedom of movement.

While urging the court to award N30 million damages against the respondence, she asked for an order compelling the IGP to constitute a fresh team of seasoned and unbiased police officers “not under the command of the AIG, to dispassionately investigate the complaint of Mrs Dickson as contained in her petition and all matters connected therewith, with a view to prosecuting anyone found culpable”.

On why she is entitled to the reliefs sought, Mrs Dickson claimed that the respondents unlawfully infringed on her right and ” that she has suffered financial, physical, mental, psychological torture, trauma, apprehension and inhuman treatment “.

Buttressing her case in the Affidavit of Urgency signed by the litigation officer in Crownwell Partners, solicitor’s to the applicant, MropeyemiSalomi and final written address to proof the case, she narrated how she was lured out of her house on November 21, 2017, by one Ekene, on the instruction of the first five respondents to Nwokolobia’s house, where she was falsely imprisoned, humiliated, tortured, injured and video recorded by MrsRoseline, Helen, Tina and Ego over allegation that Mrs Dickson was spreading rumour that MrIfeanyiNwokolobia was a ritualist.

“It was at this point that the Applicant reported the matter to the police at Area ‘M’ police command, Idimu, Lagos state. The matter was assigned to ASP SuleDanladi, who after inviting and interviewing the first four respondents was no longer showing any readiness to continue with the investigations”.

Positing that Danladi allegedly abandoned the investigation even when Mrs Dickson was under the threat of being eliminated by two gun welding assassins said to have been hired by Nwokolobia, she was forced to petition the state criminal investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, where the Deputy Commissioner of Police referred back the case to Idimu, thereby provoking a further petition to Zone 2 dated 20th December, 2017.

“The Applicant was surprised that her petition to Zone 2 Police Command was not approved owing to the fact that she made complaints against police officers, but to her chargrin, the subsequent petition of IfeanyiNwokolobia against her to Zone 2, was approved and assigned to CSP GbolahanOlugbemi”.

The parties are expected in court on March 6th, 2018.