The Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), DIG Hashimu Argungu, has written to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, demanding an investigation into the roles of some officers of the Zone 7 Police Command.
He said such action was in line with his avowed commitment to purge the Police from meddling in civil matters, requesting that the Inspector General of Police set up a competent Committee to conduct further investigation into the activities of the Officer in charge of the Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Operations of the Zone for abuse of office, extortion and gross misconduct contrary to the rules of engagement and conduct of Police Officers.
He said the letter was prompted by a complaint/petition received from one Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya against the two officers of the zone who, against repeated warnings, were involved in civil matters and supervised/provided cover in the demolition of the petitioner’s residential property where he had lived for over 15 years.
In the letter to the IGP, the PSC Chairman said that on the 19th of December 2024, the Police and enforcement staff from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, went to the residence of the petitioner, Abubakar Yahaya, “threw away his property and chased his family members out of his residence.”
DIG Argungu disclosed that the enforcement Unit of the High Court led by one Shamsudeen Ubandoma took “the sum of seven hundred thousand Naira (N700,000.00) from the petitioner under the guise or pretence of giving it to the Policemen who came with him for enforcement so that they won’t come back for enforcement again.”
He said on the 16th of January 2025; “Some Policemen with enforcement team from the court, accompanied by one faceless Alhaji Usman Sarki – the purported owner of the plot on the said No 75 Lome Crescent, Wuse Zone 7 Abuja, under dispute in court, brought trucks and bulldozers which were used in the demolition of the petitioner’s residence.”
The PSC Chairman, in the letter to the IGP, said the petitioner was arrested by the Officer in charge of Legal Unit, Zone 7 Police Command for criminal conspiracy, trespass and mischief, adding that the sum of N1m was collected from him for securing his bail. He noted that the faceless Alhaji Usman Sarki “is not known to the petitioner, as only his lawyers were always appearing on his behalf.
The petitioner claimed that he has been in possession of the said plot of land for more than 15 years without any issue, developed the land, and occupied the residence without any hindrance.
“It is now very apparent that the demolition of his residence was done solely on the strength of the Police, led by the Officer in charge of the Legal Unit, who is meant to be a Police prosecutor but turned into a tool of oppression and aided by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of Operations who led the Police to demolish the petitioner’s residence without any justification or adhering to the principle of natural justice.
In a statement by Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations disclosed in Abuja on Tuesday that the PSC Chairman said the petitioner’s prayers include; “having been rendered homeless as a result of the act of the Officers-in-Charge of Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Operations who are the major culprits of this heinous act, that the duo should be investigated and appropriate sanctions meted on them, as well as the payment of one billion Naira for the action of the Police, as compensation.
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