Others acquitted
By Vivian Okejeme
Abuja
Twelve years after some six traders, popularly called the Apo Six, were heinously killed by some trigger-happy police officers in Abuja, judgement finally came the way of some of the deceased and their families.
Chief Judge of Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, who delivered the long- awaited judgement, sentenced two police officers, Ezekiel Acheneje and Emmanuel Baba to death for killing two of the six traders on June 8, 2005.
Presiding at a FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, Justice Bello ruled that the two cops were found guilty of extrajudicial killing of Augustina Arebon and Anthony Nwokike, while the three others were discharged and acquitted.
The deceased who were aged 21 to 25, were said to be returning from a night party when the tragic incident occurred. .
Justice Bello, while delivering judgement in a nine-count criminal charge brought by the federal government, against the six policemen, declared that the court had no option than to convict the two men, on account of their own confessional statement that they shot the two traders upon instruction from superior officers.
Describing the action of the two police men as callous and barbaric, the CJ noted that by law, they were supposed to preserve lives of innocent citizens.
He further ruled that the action was condemnable because, there was no evidence that the two traders did anything to constitute threat to the police personnel at the time they were shot dead.
The trial judge also ruled that the killing of the two traders, was particularly painful because they were arrested by members of the public live and handed over to police only for the same police, to take laws into their hands by executing them.
The retraction of the confessional statement during the trial by the two convicts, was dismissed, as the judge ruled that it is an afterthought that can’t hold water, explaining that the statement by the convicted policemen, were outright confessions.
However, three other policemen, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalam and Sadiq Salami, who were charged with conspiracy and culpable homicide, contrary to Section 97 and 221 of the penal code, were set free and discharged and acquitted by the court for want of evidence.
Justice Bello said from the totality of the evidence placed before the court, the charge of conspiracy cannot be established against them because of the inability of the prosecution to convince the court that the men met and agreed to kill the six traders on June 7, 2005, while returning from a night club along Gimbiya Street, in Abuja.
The judge said, “in the case of the DCP, who was alleged to have seized an AK 47 and shot the traders in their Peugeot 406 on that fateful day, the allegation collapsed in the face of contradictions from two prosecution witnesses that Ibrahim never seized a gun or fired at the traders.”
Continuing, the Judge ruled that there was no dispute as to the fact that the DCP was having a service pistol on him and he never fired any shot with the service pistol.
He expressed displeasure with the shoddy manner investigation into the alleged killing was conducted, adding that if the fingerprint of the DCP had been taken, it could have been established whether or not he handled the AK 47 used in killing the traders on the day of the incident.
On the other four slain traders, Justice Bello ruled that the issue remains ambiguous and vague because the prosecution was unable to establish those responsible for their murder.
According to the judge, the witness told the court that DCP Danjuma was responsible for the shooting of the four traders, while another witness said it was anti-robbery patrol teams invited to the scene, that fired at the traders’ vehicle when they allegedly refused to stop at a search point, mounted by police to track down suspected robbers that allegedly struck at Crown Guest Inn at Gimbiya.
Justice Bello added that in the face of the contradiction, it was particularly impossible to hold anyone responsible for the death of the traders, stressing that the six traders created suspicion when they reversed at the checkpoint, inciting the policemen.
He further stated that it’s not in doubt that the occupants failed to stop, and that the decision not to stop, may have created suspicion.