EFCC’s Investigator Petitions IGP Over Alleged Trumped-Up Charges Against Cousins
LAGOS MARCH 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A key investigator of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abubakar Aliyu Madaki has petitioned Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris over the arrest and prosecution of cousins on alleged trumped-up charges by the Nasarawa Police Command.
He alleged that his cousins were allegedly framed up because a businessman was arrested by the EFCC.
He said the businessman, who had accused t him of being behind his arrest, was allegedly on a revenge mission.
He said his cousins had been taken to prison for committing no offence.
Madaki claimed that his cousins were put in prison because the businessman accused them of plotting to kill him and for allegedly disrupting the peace in Gunduma Village.
The EFCC operative lodged his protest to the IG through a petition by his lawyer, Mahmud Abubakar Magaji (SAN).
The petition said in part: “Based on a petition by an unknown whistle-blower against one Alhaji Abdulhamid Mahmud Zari of Kaduna Road, opposite Gunduma Garage, Gunduma, Karu LGA, Nasarawa State, he was arrested by the EFCC sometime in March 2017 for some alleged offences.
However shortly after his release on bail by the EFCC, he accused our client (Abubakar Aliyu Madaki) of being the whistleblower that reported him to EFCC.
He openly vowed to some people that know our client that he would fight our client. Sequel to Zari’s complaint to the Nasarawa State Police Command, our client was arrested on or about the 24th June 2017, a day before Sallah and taken to Lafia but later released on bail.
“Given that Zari was not happy with his arrest, he framed injurious falsehood against our client and some of his cousins alleging that our client had planned with his cousins/ relatives namely: Yahaya Balarabe, Tanko Jibrin, Shehu Jibrin and Hashimu Ibrahim to kill him and disrupt public peace in Gunduma
“In executing his sinister plans, Zari came with the Deputy Commissioner of Police to our client’s community and arrested his cousins.
“Sadly, our client’s cousins were arrested, manhandled and taken to Zari’s house where they were detained and compelled to implicate our client but they refused.”
The EFCC investigator said following his initial protest, the IGP directed that the case file be brought to the Force Headquarters from Nasarawa Command for a “thorough investigation.”
He said the file was later sent to Lafia for prosecution but he did not have faith in the Nasarawa State Police Command.
He said the Force Headquarters recommended that the “businessman(Zari) be charged for giving false information while some of our client’s cousin and the boys engaged by Zari to foment trouble in Gunduma be charged for breaching public peace.
Following his protest over lack of faith in Nasarawa State Police Command, the file was brought back to Abuja and sent to the Director of Public Prosecution, Federal Ministry of Justice.
He said while awaiting the DPP’s advice, the Nasarawa Police command only arraigned his cousins in court and spared the businessman and the thugs he allegedly used to cause trouble in Gunduma.
The petition added: “Based on police hierarchy of command, one would have expected that once a case file is transferred from the State Command to the Force Headquarter for further and thorough investigation that the report of investigation from the Force Headquarters will supersede any other investigation report from the state command.
“However, we are surprised that in utter disrespect to the authority of IGP, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State decided to dump the report from the Force Headquarters and charged our client and his relatives with criminal offences before the High Court of Nasarawa State.”
A police source said: “The petitioner was insincere. There was breach of peace in Gunduma Village involving attack on the businessman (Zari) and his cousins were arrested and prosecuted.
“If you commit an offence in Nasarawa, the appropriate place for trial is the affected state. We cannot arraign the investigator’s cousin in Abuja. As a matter of fact, the DPP of the Federal Ministry of Justice has nothing to do with the case.
“The Nasarawa State Police Command is not frivolous. It was a pure case of communal clash.We conducted investigation and charged the suspects to a High Court. In exercising discretion, the court remanded the suspects in prison.We allowed justice to take its course.”
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Posted by News Rangers
on Mar 19 2018. Filed under National, State.
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