The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) has petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu seeking the arrest of one Mr. Sochi Oba of No. 12, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos State for abduction, rape, procurement of illicit abortion and desertion of a 16 year old pregnant girl (name withheld) and for further threat to the lives of the victim and her father.
The National Coordinator of NOPRIN, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma who signed the petition dated 25th March, 2019 recalled that the father of the victim had on the 15th of January, 2019 wrote to the Commissioner of Police (CP), Lagos State through his solicitors bringing to the attention of the CP, a complaint against one Mr. Sochi Oba who abducted and raped his under aged daughter, forcing her to procure unlawful abortion which resulted to complications including excessive bleeding which nearly took her life and desertion of the poor girl to her fate.
Nwanguma said that the alleged culprit abandoned the girl to her father who had singlehandedly been taking care of her, taking her from one hospital to another and incurring heavy expenses trying to save the life of his daughter.
He added that upon receiving the complaint, the CP referred the matter to the Gender Unit at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters for investigation which subsequently sent a formal invitation to the accused at his residence No. 12, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos State but the accused refused to honour the invitation.
The NOPRIN boss further observed that attempts to arrest him had also been futile as the accused person absconded from his apartment and only sneaks in occasionally at odd hours as corroborated by the security guard attached to his residence.
“In further effort to arrest the culprit, and with prodding from NOPRIN, the Gender Unit requested the FESTAC Police Station which is the nearest police station to the residence of the accused person to assist in tracking and arresting him. Again, FESTAC Police Station dropped an invitation for the alleged culprit through the security guard who again confirmed that he handed the invitation to him one late night when he sneaked in to the house and left shortly after collecting the invitation from him.
“According to the father of the victim, a lawyer has been appearing for the alleged culprit at FESTAC police station and has been promising to produce his client but has till date, failed to produce him.
“The father of the victim who has been bearing the huge medical expense for his daughter’s medical care further informed NOPRIN that the alleged culprit calls him from different phone numbers to threaten him and pressuring him to withdraw the matter from the police and also boasting that he cannot get him as he is ‘Odogwu’, Igbo word close to ‘invincible’. When he tries to call him back on the numbers, they’re no longer reachable.
“Following apparent lack of diligence on the part of the IPOs at FESTACT and Gender Unit to arrest the culprit, the victim’s father decided to keep a close watch at the alleged culprit’s residence. He was later to learn from the security guard that the alleged culprit had started removing his household property in a suspected bid to park out of the house and evade arrest. He said he also alerted FESTAC hoping they could lay ambush and arrest him.
“On Saturday March 23, 2019 the victim’s father received information that someone came with a truck to evacuate the alleged culprit’s remaining property and he called an officer at FESTAC Police Station identified as Inspector Kate who claimed she was not in the office and could not attend to his request. He then called Ago Police Station and two officers promptly responded and came, arrested the man and 2 others with him and took them, along with the truck containing the property, to FESTAC Police Station. To his surprise, Inspector Kate who claimed that she was not in the office was actually in the office. His expectation was that FESTAC would detain the goods until the culprit shows up and that FESTAC would also treat the man who tried to remove the property on behalf of the culprit as someone trying to aid a fugitive suspect to evade justice. But the man wasn’t getting any cooperation from FESTAC and Gender Unit.
“NOPRIN spoken with both the OC Gender and the DPO FESTAC on this matter but they weren’t showing great interest in using this opportunity to track the fugitive crime suspect.
“The victim’s father said he has been receiving threats from unknown people calling him from hidden numbers threatening that if he does not drop the case against Sochi, either him or his daughter will ‘be down”, he said.
Nwanguma therefore requested the Commissioner of Police to ensure that the culprit was arrested even as he observed that the accused lawyer should be made to produce him as he had repeatedly promised without fulfilling.
“The suspect and his accomplices should also be held responsible for the threat to the victim and her father”, he concluded.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police command, Mr. Bala Elkana said that the matter was just brought to his notice adding that the matter had been pending long before his arrival and that of the CP who just assumed duty at the command and that not much had been done before now.
“But the CP has instructed the Gender Unit to look into that matter and ensure that investigation is carried out to a logical conclusion, those who are found culpable, definitely must face the full wrath of the law. I have personally instructed the Gender Unit to go and mount surveillance in that place and ensure the man is arrested. I am doing it not because I am a PRO, I am doing it because we are human, we want justice to be done to people who deserve justice’, the PRO added.
Photo: The National Coordinator, NOPRIN, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma.
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