The Nigeria Police Force has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja praying for an order stopping restraining the various states’ judicial panels of enquiry probing allegations of rights abuses extra judicial killings and other acts of brutality by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police tactical units.
The Nigeria Police Force as the plaintiff in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1492/2020, urged the court to restrain the Attorneys-General of the 36 states of the federation and their various judicial panels of enquiry from going ahead with the probe focusing on police impunity.
The defendants, totaling 104, who were sued by the NPF, comprised the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission which set up the Independent Investigative Panel sitting in Abuja, the Attorneys-General of the states, and chairmen of the various states’ judicial panels.
The decision to set up the various panels of enquiry was taken by the National Economic Council (NEC) with members including the 36 state governors and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as the charman or presiding officer of (NEC) in the aftermath of the recent nationwide EndSARS protests demanding an end to police brutality, but which turned violent occasioning massive destruction and looting of public and private properties.
The NPF, through their lawyer, Mr. O. M. Atoyebi (SAN), had argued in the fresh suit that the state governments lacked the power to constitute the panels to investigate activities of the police force and its officials in the conduct of their statutory duties.
According to the plaintiff, the state governments’ decision to set up such panels violated the provisions of section 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Constitution and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act.
It argued that by virtue of the provisions of 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution only the Federal Government had exclusive power to “organize, control and administer the Nigeria Police Force”.
It, therefore, urged to, among others, declare that “the establishment of a judicial panel of enquiries by the governors of the various states of the federation of Nigeria, to inquire into the activities of the Nigeria Police Force in relation to the discharge of her statutory duties is a gross violation of the provisions of Section 241 (1)(2) (a) and Item 45, Part 1, First schedule, of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 21 of the tribunals of inquiry Act, Cap.T21, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.
The plaintiff also urged the court to declare that “having regard to the circumstances of this case, the attitude of the governors of the various states of the Federation of Nigeria, in this case, is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever”.
It sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd to 38th defendants (the state Attorneys-General of the 36 states) “from making or conducting any investigations, sittings, and inquiries and/or from making or conducting any further investigations, sittings and inquiries in respect of matters affecting the Nigeria Police Force, and or further setting up any panel of inquiry in any state whatsoever in the country”. It will be reduced that following the ENDSARS protest which took place sporitancously resulting from the country and the attendant disaster resulting from the massive looting of private and public property, arson, carnage and blood bath at the lekkitoll gate shooting that triggered the violent actions of the (Youths non regarded as hoodhems, or miscreants, the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria suggested that setting up a judicial panel of enquires to unravel the remote cause and sponsors of the ENDSARS protest, so many suspected facilitators of the unrest have since been arrested and their bank accounts frozen. However the measures have not dissuaded the coruplainants form making the cases against Police brutality pubic by appearing before the panels of enquiry. It was while the panels of still going on that the NPF reported to courts of competent jurisdiction it halt the panel’s activities.
