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Ikwerre man
battles police, Nddc’s
steward in court
By
Akanimo Sampson
Bureau Chief, Port Harcourt
THE Nigeria Police Force, River State
command, and a steward with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr
Andrew Amonougbe, have been dragged to a Port Harcourt High Court, to answer
for an alleged human rights violation of an Ikwerre businessman from
Mgbuosimini community in the Mile 4 area of Port Harcourt city council.
In suit No. PHC/434m/2004, the Ikwerre
businessman, Mr. Seth Tikili, is praying the court to declare that his
detention by the Police from Saturday, July 10 - 12, 2004 and thereafter
from July 16 - 23, 2004, at the behest of the NDDC steward, constitutes a
contravention of his fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 35(1), (4) and
(5)(a) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
Also being prayed for is the sum of one
million naira as compensation for infringement of his fundamental rights and an
order commanding the respondents jointly and/or severally to deliver an apology
in writing to him for infringement of his fundamental human rights.
The respondents in the suit however, are
the NDDC steward, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Rabiu, an
assistant superintendent of Police (ASP) of the State Criminal Investigation
Department (SCID), and one Uche of Legal unit of the state CID.
The applicant is a car dealer and he
undertakes to supply cars from Benin Republic to interested persons. The NDDC
steward needed the applicant to supply him a car. The steward allegedly wanted
“a small flashy car”.
Under a 17-point grounds the applicant is
seeking the reliefs, he claimed they agreed that the “flashy car”
will cost N600,000.00 only. He deposed that the anxious NDDC steward made an
initial deposit of N300,000 and allegedly said that at the time the car will
arrive, his Fixed Deposit Account would have matured and that the balance of
N300,000 will be paid from that account.
At Cotonou, Benin Republic, the applicant
allegedly called the NDDC steward on telephone and informed him that he had
seen a Toyota Supra Car with full option and a factory fitted air conditioner.
The applicant got ahead order to
negotiate and buy the car. But surprisingly when the applicant came back for
the balanced of N300,000 to enable him take care of all necessary charges,
“it turned out that the first Respondent (the NDDC steward) never had any
fixed deposit account in any bank”. He was unable to pay the balance to
the applicant.
The applicant averred that the
development made him to secure a loan with interest to pay up and retrieve the
car from the wharf at Cotonou because according to him, if he had failed to do
so he would have forfeited the sum of N300,000 already deposited on the car.
Trouble however, started when the car
arrived. Unable to pay the balance, the NDDC steward allegedly instructed the
applicant to sell the car and refund his money. He did sell the car but
allegedly received a part payment of the price. The part payment, according to
the applicant, was used to service the loan and interest.
This did not go down well with the NDDC
staff who use the Police to arrest and detained the applicant at the Police
cell, where he was “seriously tortured” and the sum of N20,000
allegedly collected from him before he could be released on bail at the first
instance on July 12, 2004.
Continuing, he deposed that at the time
of his arrest and detention, he was not informed of any offence known to law,
which he committed.
On July 22, 2004, the legal firm of U. G.
Nwokocha & Co, wrote a two-page petition against the activities of the ASP
at the state CID, the legal unit of the state CID, the 3rd and 4th respondents
in the suit.
In the petition that was signed by Mr. R.
Horsfall, for the legal firm, they alleged that the Police demanded the sum of
N80,000 as condition on which the applicant would be granted bail.
In the petition which was addressed to
the Commissioner of Police, Rives State, they claimed that the applicant was
detained until the evening of Monday, July 12, 2004 when the police officers
reluctantly reduced their bail fee to N20,000, which the elder brother of the
applicant, Mr. Simeon Tikili, allegedly paid in the office of the
Officer-in-charge (O/C) legal.
When the applicant regained his freedom,
he and his brother, the petition claimed, were asked to report back on
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 with either the sum of N409,000 allegedly being the
amount in question, or a car.
On the appointed date, the Tikili
brothers informed the police that the car which was then being expected to be
cleared in Lagos had not arrived and that they had not raised the said sum of
N409,000.
Displeased, the police allegedly warned
the Tikili brothers to produce the car or money, unfailingly on Friday, July
16, 2004. That day, they reported at the state CID and informed the police
that the car had arrived. They pleaded for a police escort to enable them
bring the car to the state CID from Lagos since it was not yet registered.
“Rather than accede to the said
request, the police quickly re-detained our client on that Friday, July 16,
2004 in the cell at the state CID, Port Harcourt, “ the petition stated.
Apparently rattled by the petition, on
July 23, 2004, the applicant was arraigned before a Port Harcourt chief
magistrate court for defrauding and obtaining from the NDDC steward the sum of
N409,000 with the pretence of purchasing Primera car for him. By so doing the
police claimed that the accused committed an offence punishable under Section
419 of the Criminal Code Cap. 37 laws of Rives State of Nigeria 1999.
Meanwhile, the applicant’s counsel,
Mr. Uche Nwokocha, says in the course of trial, they will seek to establish
that it is unlawful and oppressive to use the machinery of the police for the
purpose of recovery of debt if any, intimidate, humiliate, torture and
subjugation of the applicant.
He said they will also seek to establish
that the conduct of the respondents is arbitrary, illegal, unlawful and
unconstitutional.
Already, the applicant has sworn to a
fire-point affidavit in support of his application.
No date has been fixed for hearing.
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