Edo Community Petitions IG over Alleged Invasion, Killing by Police

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The people of Enwan in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State have petitioned the Inspection General (IG)of Police and other security agencies including the police, State Security Services (SSS), calling for investigation into the alleged invasion and killing of a young man in the community by men suspected to be policemen.

 They also want investigation into the way and manner the suspected policemen allegedly came in a private vehicle said to be long to a private university in Ekiti State on the alleged instigation of one Dr. Babtunde Wahab said to be a staff of the university who they accused of “spreading false, defamatory, and inflammatory narratives across social and mainstream media platforms allegedly justify the said invasion that resulted to the killing of one Mr. Cosmos.” In a petition addressed to the IG with copies to the Police Service Commission, lawmakers representing the area in the Senate, House of Representatives and the Edo State House of Assembly by the Chairman, Enwan Progressives Forum Elders Council, Dr. Steve Momoh, Chairman, Enwan Progressives Forum, Israel Omokhafe and Legal Counsel, Enwan Progressives Forum, Mrs Rachael Akerele and made available to journalists in Benin City  yesterday said the action of the police was unprovoked as they shot and killed Cosmos while he and others were trying to enquire from the police, their mission in the community.

 They said the policemen were dressed in black “tactical gear” marked RRS EKS and “Their mission was never disclosed, and no visible warrants, badges, or proof of jurisdictional authority, thereby casting immediate doubts on the legality of their operation.”

“This operation, disturbingly reminiscent of Gestapo-style tactics, flagrantly violated the principles of due process, the rule of law, and the fundamental respect for human life. The unidentified operatives approached the Enwan Mixed Secondary school, a space that typically serves as a hub of academic activity, and surrounding residential areas in a hostile and confrontational manner, inciting fear, confusion, and chaos among residents, particularly against the backdrop of existing insecurity in Edo North region and particularly Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, characterised by farmer-herder conflicts, kidnappings, and ritual attacks.”

“This act of extrajudicial killing, the wanton and disproportionate use of deadly force, and the evident jurisdictional overreach constitute a grave violation of both Nigerian law and internationally recognised human rights standards. The action and invasion were unlawful, illegitimate, and in direct contravention of Sections 34, 36 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantee the right to life, the dignity of the human person, right to fair hearing, which is a cornerstone of human rights and due process, and freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment.”

They also said no warrant of arrest was issued for any individual before the alleged invasion happened and that the alleged comments by Wahab’s worsened the situation.

“Most disturbingly, Dr. Wahab baselessly accused Enwan community of being a hub for ritual killings, internet fraud, kidnapping, and even issuing fake customs documents, an unsubstantiated slanderous statement which amounts to dangerous ethnic profiling and collective criminalisation of a peaceful people” and attempt to demonise Enwan Community.”

The community therefore, among others, demanded joint independent inquiry involving representatives from the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Edo State Command, human rights organisations, and community representatives to ensure a transparent and unbiased investigation.