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Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality – Day 18

Picture of a witness testifying at the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on March 4, 2021

Table of Contents

This is a report of the eighteenth public hearing of the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings in Oyo State.

Venue: The House of Chiefs, Oyo State House of Assembly, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Date: Thursday March 4, 2021.

Today’s sitting commenced at about 9:23am, shortly after the arrival of the panelists.

Cases before the Oyo State Judicial Panel

1. Case No. OYJPPB/009

Barr. Babatunde Lawal v Inspector-General of Police and Five Others. The petitioner was present and was represented by Afolabi Ariyo (Esq.), J. O. Oduma and G. M. Kalu. Meanwhile, CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew appeared on behalf of the respondent.

The petitioner’s counsel, Afolabi Ariyo (Esq.) told the Oyo State Judicial Panel that the respondent’s response was served on him on the 3rd of February, 2021 which was the last time the petition had appeared before the panel after which he prayed the panel for an adjournment so he could react to the response. He however pointed out that there is a subsisting judgement on the said matter which had not been enforced.

In response, the Oyo State Judicial Panel stated that similar cases had been brought before the panel and counsels had explored the garnishing option to enforce the judgment. The panel thereby advised the petitioner’s counsel to explore other options available in law to enforce the judgment as the panel cannot take any step against the judgment since that is the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.

Also, the Oyo State Judicial Panel promised to guide the petitioner on how he could forward his petition to the public petition committee of both the House of Representatives (through the member representing the petitioner’s constituency) and the Senate (through the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District), who would then summon the parties involved for restitution.

Therefore, petition OYJPPB/009 was adjourned sine die.

2. Case No. OYJPPB/041

Umoru Adamu v The Nigeria Police, Saki Area Command. The petitioner was absent and was not represented by a legal counsel. CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew represented the respondent.

Mrs Oluwafolake Ogundele, the legal counsel to the Oyo State Judicial Panel recalled that the petition appeared last on the 3rd of February, 2021 and today was the second appearance of the petition. She said based on the panel’s order at the last sitting, a fresh hearing notice was issued and served on the petitioner but because he has no clear address; she sent text messages to the number provided on the petition as she couldn’t get through to him on the phone but there was no response from the petitioner’s end.

However, the Police Officer in Charge Legal, CSP Fawole said that the petition was served on the respondent on the 28th of January, 2021 but they had not responded to the petition because Mukailu M. with the said number 451566 as mentioned in the petition, was not found in the record of the Oyo State Police Command. In view of this, she humbly applied that the petition be struck out.

In response, the Oyo State Judicial Panel stated that the respondent’s counsel mentioned just one respondent and ignored other names in the petition and that the panel would apply the principle of fair hearing and grant the petitioner another adjournment.

With this, the petition was adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till March 25, 2021 for mention.

3. Case No. OYJPPB/042

Pastor Ayekunle Ayeleke v Commissioner of Police, Lagos State. The petitioner was present and was represented by O. K. Oyewale (Esq.). CSP Funke Fawole declined appearance on behalf of the respondent because the matter had to do with Lagos State.

Mrs Oluwafolake Ogundele, the legal counsel to the Oyo State Judicial Panel stated that the hearing notice was served on the CID legal section, Lagos State Police Command on the 8th of February, 2021 and the hearing notice was received, signed and stamped. However, the respondent was absent and had not filed a response.

The Oyo State Judicial Panel filed the proof of service on the respondent in evidence and the petition was adjourned till March 18, 2021 for definite hearing. The panel also ordered that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served on the respondent.

4. Case No. OYJPPB/044

Mr Kunle Ajayi v The Nigeria Police, Bodija Ibadan. The petitioner was absent and was not represented. Meanwhile, CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew appeared on behalf of the respondent.

Mrs Oluwafolake Ogundele, the Oyo State Judicial Panel’s counsel said that on the 3rd of February, 2021 which was the last adjourned date, the petitioner appeared before the panel without a legal representative and the panel ordered that he should be attached to a pro bono counsel who would help him with the case. She said that the petitioner was at the secretariat later that day and she gave him the list of the available pro bono lawyers but she could not explain why he was absent today.

The Police Officer in Charge Legal, CSP Fawole stated that she had been served but was yet to file a response because she was yet to get the files needed to prosecute the petition.

The petition was adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till March 25, 2021 for mention. The Oyo State Judicial Panel also ordered that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served on the petitioner.

5. Case No. OYJPPB/045

Daodu Ayoniyi Edward v The Nigeria Police, Iyaganku. The petitioner was absent and was not represented. CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew maintained appearances on behalf of the respondent.

The Police Officer in Charge Legal, CSP Fawole said that she had been served but was yet to respond because she was unable to trace the document that could be of help in this case.

With this, the petition was adjourned till March 25, 2021 for mention. The Oyo State Judicial Panel also ordered CSP Fawole to furnish the panel with a record of the police officers on the counter in the month of March 2013.

6. Case No. OYJPPB/047

Adeola Isiaka Adeniyi v The Nigeria Police, Iyaganku Division. The petitioner was absent and was not represented by a legal counsel. CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew represented the respondent.

The Police Officer in Charge Legal, CSP Fawole told the Oyo State Judicial Panel that she had been served but was yet to file a response because there is a subsisting judgement dated December 6, 2016 and the petition does not contain the suit number and the court judgement which makes it difficult for her to the document needed to react to the petition.

With this, the petition was adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till March 31st, 2021 for mention.

7. Case No. OYJPPB/051

Mr Hassan Muraina v Nigeria Police, Saki Police Station. The petitioner was absent and was not represented. CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew announced their appearances on behalf of the respondent.

CSP Fawole, the Police Officer in Charge Legal, said that she had been served but was yet to file a response because the enquiry she made as regards the petition, showed that there was no record of such incident.

The petition was therefore adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till March 31, 2021 for mention.

8. Case No. OYJPPB/052

Mr Moyebi Ayowale v The Nigeria Police, Arowomole Ogbomoso. The petitioner was absent and was not represented by a legal counsel. CSP Funke Fawole and Mr O. J. Matthew appeared on behalf of the respondent.

Mrs Oluwafolake Ogundele, the Oyo State Judicial Panel’s legal counsel said that when she reached out to the petitioner on phone to remind him of today’s sitting, he had said he would not be present because he had no money to transport himself to Ibadan.

Meanwhile, the Police Officer in Charge Legal, CSP Fawole said that she had been served but was yet to respond because no specific station was mentioned in the petition to enable her retrieve any file on the petition, for the preparation of a response.

The petition was therefore adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till April 6, 2021 for hearing or striking out.

9. Case No. OYJPPB/059

Mr Ayodele Francis Olutoyin v FRSC. The petitioner was present and was represented by J. B. Olaoye (Esq.). Meanwhile, the respondent was absent at the sitting.

The petition was adjourned till March 16, 2021 for mention to enable the Oyo State Sector Legal Officer of FRSC, Mr Bamisaye appear before the Oyo State Judicial Panel. The panel also ordered in addition to the summons, that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served on the respondent’s counsel.

10. Case No. OYJPPB/082

The Family of Late Gbadebo Kolawole Abiodun Abiodun v The Oyo State Security Network (Amotekun). Oni Gbadebo appeared on behalf of the family and A. B. Bello (Esq.) represented the family as a legal counsel. Meanwhile, the respondent was absent.

The petition is about a young man who was killed as a result of a misfired bullet and whose corpse was not released to his family members for a befitting burial. The petitioner’s counsel, A. B. Bello (Esq.) told the Oyo State Judicial Panel that the corpse had been embalmed since last year and family couldn’t afford to pay the money needed for the release of the corpse as well as the post-mortem.

The Oyo State Judicial Panel however informed the family that actions had been taken as regards that as the panel had met with Commissioner for Health last week on the said matter. The panel said that as a result of the meeting, the Commissioner had told the hospital to release the corpse to the family as well as conduct the post-mortem if the family so wishes, without collecting a dime.

The Oyo State Judicial Panel concluded that a letter would be written to summon the Secretary of the Oyo State Security Network to appear before the panel at the next adjourned date. The petition was therefore adjourned till April 7, 2021 for mention.

Petitions for Hearing at the Oyo State Judicial Panel

11. Case No. OYJPPB/061

Mrs Uwagbafor v Unknown Protesters. The petitioner was present and was represented by O. K. Oyewale (Esq.). The petitioner was invited to the witness stand and the oath was administered on her.

The petitioner’s name is Mrs Cecilia Uwagbafor. She lives at (redacted). She is a civil servant and she works at (redacted). She said that she had left home for work at about 6:30am on Tuesday 20th October, 2020 and she drove her grey Honda Accord Car with registration number (redacted) on that said date.

When she got to Ojoo Roundabout, there was a road block by #EndSARS protesters and she had to turn back to pass through Ibadan-Oyo Express Road and the #EndSARS protesters were still there, then she had to turn back for safety. She said that she drove her car to a nearby police station in Ojoo along UI-Oyo Road. She said that she met an officer who she told that she would like to park her car at the Police Station, and he obliged.

She said that she took a bike to the office and all these happened at about 7am. Later in the day, while at work she got an information that there was a fracas between the police and the protesters. She said all the cars parked at the police station including the police station were burnt in the process. She said that though she was disturbed but she waited till the close of work and she left at about 4:30pm. After closing hour, she took a cab back to the police station to confirm what had happened and she saw that her car was among the burnt cars. She wanted to take the picture but the protesters prevented her from doing so because she was tagged as a police officer, which she debunked.

The petitioner said that one of the protesters told her to leave the scene or else she would be burnt. She then ran towards Onibuore along Iwo Road Express where she was able to board a cab home. She said she was however able to take the photographs of the burnt car the next day. She said the car was owned by her and her husband. She also said she reported the incident at Moniya Police Station on the 27th of October, 2020.

At this point, the petitioner’s counsel; O. K. Oyewale (Esq.) tendered the following documents before the Oyo State Judicial Panel:

  • Particulars of the motor vehicle
  • Change of ownership
  • Receipt of payment
  • Roadworthiness tag
  • Proof of ownership certificate
  • Allocation of registration number (Lagos State Government)
  • Certificate of Roadworthiness
  • Photograph of the burnt vehicle

The Oyo State Judicial Panel therefore marked the submitted documents as Exhibit 1-8 after which the panel members took turn to cross examine the petitioner. At the end of the cross examination, the panel ordered the petitioner to present her marriage certificate, her car key and her husband before the panel at the secretariat.

Mrs Uwagbafor appealed to the Oyo State Judicial Panel to passionately look into her case for necessary compensation to the sum of 1.5 Million Naira.

With this, the petition was adjourned sine die.

12. Case No. OYJPPB/013

Bello Olusegun Kayode v Nigeria Police (Sango Police Station). The petitioner was present and he chose to represent himself. Meanwhile, CSP Funke Fawole maintained appearance on behalf of the respondent.

CSP Fawole, the Police Officer in Charge Legal said that she had been to Sango Police Station and she couldn’t find any document which would be instrumental in reacting to the petition. However, she said that the petitioner could present his petition and she would cross examine him on the adjourned date. The petition was slated today for hearing but she prayed the Oyo State Judicial Panel for an adjournment for health reasons and to afford her the opportunity to present her witness before the panel.

With the approval of the counsels, the petition was re-adjourned by the Oyo State Judicial Panel till March 18, 2021 for definite hearing.

Having gone through the proceedings for today, the hearing was brought to a close at about 4:36pm.