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Lukman Olabiyi
Civil society organisation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has accused the Anambra State Command of the Nigeria Police Force of attempting to cover up facts and shield alleged killers of two persons while enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown in the state.
RULAAC made the allegation in a statement issued by Okechukwu Nwanguma, its Executive Director, on Sunday.
According to Nwanguma, the organisation was making efforts to identify who among the police and eye witness was not telling the truth.
“In the case of Anambra, the difference we see is the apparent attempt by the Police Command to twist the facts, cover-up and shield the police killers.
“We need to ascertain, between the Police and eyewitnesses, who is lying. We have already called on the Governor of Anambra State to invoke his powers and set up an independent inquiry to go to the root of the matter to unravel the truth and recommend measures to ensure justice and a prevention of the repeat of that tragedy,” Nwanguma said.
He noted that during the previous week, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) raised concerns about the numbers of killings by law enforcement agencies while enforcing the lockdown order noting that killings by security operatives across the nation were more than deaths from the virus.
The RULAAC Executive Director warned that there could be a break down of law and order considering cases of misconduct in Anambra, Abia, Osun, among other states.
He, however, commended the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, for his prompt response against police misconduct.
“I commend the Inspector General of Police for always rising to the occasion in promptly ordering the arrest of unruly officers and investigation of acts of brutality and misconduct,” he said.
He urged the IGP to set up a monitoring process for men of the police force in the discharge of their enforcement duties during the lockdown.
