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Akpabonam Photo: Sun News Publishing |
Eyewitness said other policemen around had to assist their superior officer before Akpabonam could be successfully disarmed. In his petition to the Commissioner-in-charge of FSARS, Akpabonam said he was taking a case file he was handling to his team leader ASP Ibrahim Yusuf when he ‘jammed’ the ACP, who was coming out from an office.
He said: “As I was taking the case file to my team leader’s office, I met ACP Kokumo coming out from Senior Police Officer’s( SPO) office and we bumped into ourselves.
“Before I could say sorry sir, he started denting me with blows on my face and head to the extent that he gave me ring cut on my head and also made me have shifted jaw which I am still nursing,” he stated in his petition.
According to the petition, dated May 16, 2011 which was copied to Daily Sun , the petitioner averred that as a result of the incident he was kept in the cell, having been thoroughly beaten to stupor. When Daily Sun visited the station at the weekend to investigate, the Commissioner of Police in-charge could not be reached. When our reporter phoned him, he said he was busy but promised to be available in the evening but subsequent calls to him were not answered.
Determined to get a different angle to the story, Daily Sun met the man at the centre of the matter, ACP Kokumo, who surprisingly answered our questions without hesitation. He explained that he was in his office when he heard the sound of gunshot. According to him, because the sound of the gun appeared to be within the premises, he went out to see if anything was amiss. ACP Kokuwa was shocked when he was told that one of his officers nearly killed a civilian in the station and quickly ordered his team leader to ensure he was disarmed.
“You could imagine the confusion and embarrassment such an act would have given police in general and this station in particular.“When I gave the order, I expected him to surrender his gun and to be remorseful. But to my dismay he did not only resist those who wanted to disarm him, but he confronted me when I moved near. At that stage, I had to hold him to enable officers retrieve his gun from him. I immediately ordered him to the cell, again he refused to obey,” he explained.
Asked to explain whether, the petitioner was beaten to stupor as claimed, he replied: “Nothing could be farther from the truth. I can tell you there was no serious injury but as you know, we have to ensure discipline in the police. I gave him order and he refused. The rule is that an order of a superior officer must be obeyed, so he was forced into the cell with minimum forces,” he explained. Feelers from the station described Inspector Akpabonam as a very stubborn officer, who could be troublesome at times.
“He is a troublesome officer. Even when oga Gadzama was here as our CP, he gave him a lot of trouble,” one of the officers said. In his petition, Akpabonam further alleged that he had spent N150,000 on the wound he sustained during the encounter.
“He dragged me like an animal through the step to the cell, even inside the cell; he dealth with me to the extent that I excreted all over my body at my age. It was people in the cell that revived me from the shock. There was blood all over me that an entry was made by the Incident Duty Officer.”
Meanwhile, investigation revealed that the police High Command had waded into the matter by setting up a panel to investigate.
However, the panel has to adjourn due to the absence of the petitioner who is expected to come and explain his side. Sources close to the force confided in Daily Sun said that the Inspector had been given 21 days to appear before the panel.
By OLA AGBAJE
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Source : sunnewsonline.com
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