Arrested policeman to IG: I killed B/Haram in shootout, not farmers

By Ibrahim Abdul’ Aziz

Yola

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Usman Hassan, arrested for allegedly killing six farmers during an operation in Gombi local Government area of Adamawa state has insisted that those killed were Boko Haram members and that he has evidence to prove his claim.
Hassan in a petition to the Inspector General of Police said the six died in a shoot out with his team which included local hunters, and that the operation was on the directive of the then Adamawa state Commissioner of Police, Mr Moses Jitoboh.
The petition was dated December 19, 2017 and addressed to IGP entitled: “Petition Against Adamawa State Commissioner of Police Moses Jitoboh, and AC CID, Adamawa Command for Illegal Detention, Criminal Conspiracy, Violation of Rights and Gross Abuse of Power”.
Signed by counsel to the ASP, Femi Motojesi, a stamped photocopy of which was made available to newsmen in Yola, the petition said Hassan who was then the Commander of Safer High Way in Adamawa was contacted by the then Commissioner of Police, Jitoboh through the commissioner’s Personal Assistant to organise a raid on areas habouring Boko Haram suspects.
“That upon been briefed, our client suggested to the commissioner of police that such operations are the types the Army have been given the mandate to handle but the commissioner insisted that he want(ed) the police to execute the operation.”
It was on the strength of this “That on the 22nd of November, 2017, our client (Hassan) and his team members went for the operations and due to resistance of the suspects, there was an exchange of gun fire,” the petition stated in part.
However, on their return, “our client as usual through the personal assistant informed the CP of their experience and gave him a report.
“That it was upon receipt of the report that the personal assistant made volte face and start singing a different song.
“To our client’s utter amazement, the AC CID, Yola began a massive arrest of members of the hunters association the CP had engaged for the operation and the policemen detailed in the operation were also arrested and detained.”
The petition also alleged that all Boko Haram suspects and drug dealers earlier arrested by Hassan and transferred to the command CID have been released without prosecution.
On his part, the newly posted Commissioner of Police who took over from Jitoboh, Mr Abdullahi Yerima, simply said “Hassan is under arrest and the case is being investigated for prosecution.”

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