Two weeks after Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun ordered a comprehensive investigation into the killings of #EndBadGovernance protesters in some states by police officers, the police said the investigation has ended and it shows police officers acted professionally and did not kill anyone during the protests.
In a statement on Sunday, the police also exonerated their officers of any wrongdoing, saying they acted professionally during the protests.
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The police, in the statement, disputed a 33-page report by Amnesty International which detailed how 24 people were killed across the country during hunger and anger-induced #EndBadGovernance protests in August.
The statement, posted on Facebook by police spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi, also tried to discredit the findings of a PREMIUM TIMES investigation that showed how the police and local vigilantes killed six civilians and injured others during the protests.
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The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Suleja branch, Abdullahi Liman, also confirmed the killings and violations in Suleja.
In the 33-page report by Amnesty International, 24 people were killed across Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Niger states. The rights group added that several persons were injured and over 1,200 protesters were arrested, including activists and journalists.
In response to the report, the police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said two weeks ago that “the IGP has directed a comprehensive investigation into the claims.”
He said commissioners of police in “the affected states have been mandated to submit further detailed reports on the incidents within one week.”
The pre-empted police investigation
Even before the police conducted any investigation, Mr Adejobi suggested the police had already come to a conclusion. Only seven people were killed and their deaths “were not caused by police actions,” the police spokesperson said in the statement he shared a fortnight ago.
Despite the police attacks and arrests of peaceful protesters and journalists covering the protests in Abuja, including the Abuja chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and a PREMIUM TIMES journalist, the spokesperson also claimed no person was unjustly arrested during the protests.
Mr Adejobi said that arrests made during the protests “targeted individuals engaging in criminal acts such as treason, vandalism, robbery, arson, and looting.” According to him, the arrests were conducted lawfully, and those detained were treated within the ambit of the law.
The Investigation
To investigate the allegations against the police, especially the report by Amnesty International, Mr Adejobi said the police constituted a special investigation panel which was given a deadline to make its independent findings. He said the panel was assisted by commissioners of police in the states where violations and deaths of civilians were attributed to the police during the protest.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the police commissioners were given a week’s ultimatum to submit their findings to the police boss, Mr Egbetokun.
“Copies of these findings were sent to the special investigation panel,” Mr Adejobi said on Sunday. He claimed that members of the panel also visited the identified areas and submitted their report to the police boss.
Amnesty said 12 people were killed in Kano, three each in Borno, Jigawa and Niger. The group also noted that two people were killed in Kaduna and one in Katsina. Among those killed were three females, including one Nana Firdausi allegedly killed by a police officer nicknamed “Jarumin Maza.” Two minors were also killed during the protests.
In Borno, three people were killed in an IED attack. Amnesty International said it spoke to one of the deceased’s parents who narrated how his son, Amodu, alongside two others, were killed at a petrol station where they worked as fuel attendants.
“Amodu and his colleagues were in the filling station selling fuel. When they noticed the protest was getting serious, they stopped selling the fuel and sat down,” the father told the rights group. “A convoy of police vehicles when approaching the filling station threw a hand grenade at the filling station and teargas. At once three people died including Amodu.” Amnesty International stated.
But the police disputed this, saying the victims were killed by terrorists who infiltrated the protest. The police spokesperson added that the force “does not possess or utilise explosive hand grenades in its operations.”
The spokesperson claimed that Amnesty heavily relied on PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation to draw its findings in Niger State. He claimed no one was killed in Niger State. He further described our investigation as an “unverified” report by “a local tabloid.”
The police spokesperson’s claims are false. Our investigation showed that six people were killed — five of them were shot dead by the police on the first day of the 10-day protests at various points in Suleja LGA and Sabon Wuse, Tafa LGA. The sixth person, a scavenger, was killed on the fifth day of the protests.
The police also denied Amnesty’s claim that police officers killed people in Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states. This is despite this video evidence of one of the killings.
Police silent on harassment of journalists
More than 30 journalists, including PREMIUM TIMES reporters, were harassed or assaulted by police officers during the protests. While some were either injured or harassed, others were arrested as documented here and here.
While Amnesty International highlighted this attack against journalists in its report, the police refused to comment on it in the statement by its spokesperson.
Instead, the police denied the excessive use of force, describing the claim as “false, misleading, and an unfair misrepresentation of the actions and conduct of our officers.”
Mr Adejobi added that “the Nigeria Police Force operates under the highest professional standards and remains fully committed to upholding human rights and the rule of law. Our officers deployed for protest management are regularly being trained in compliance with international human rights standards.”
He noted that the police respect citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. He, however, emphasised that the police are charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order.
He said: “During the #EndBadGovernance protests, police officers were deployed to safeguard protesters, protect lives and property, and prevent disruptions caused by infiltrators seeking to hijack the demonstrations. Contrary to Amnesty International’s claims, there is no credible evidence to support allegations of killings or excessive use of force by the police. Reports of officers firing live rounds at protesters or targeting unarmed civilians are baseless and were not corroborated by independent investigations.
“Evidence available to the NPF indicates that certain elements infiltrated the protests with the intention of inciting violence, destroying public property, and endangering public safety. The police responded with minimum force without the use of firearms to disperse such disruptive elements in accordance with legal guidelines. Detentions and prosecutions were conducted within legal frameworks, and allegations of arbitrary arrests, maltreatment, or denial of legal access are unsubstantiated.”
