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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Three years after Edward Dumsara Leera was arrested and later reported dead in inexplicable circumstances by the police, the family of the man from Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State is demanding justice.
The family has insisted that the police are responsible for the extrajudicial, cold-blooded murder of its son.
Investigations revealed that Edward was arrested on July 30 2019 while in the company of the former Chairman of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Lahteh Lah Loolo, This took place during the reported visit by operatives of the Department of the State Security and Police to meet with repentant militants who reside in Akwa-Ibom and Rivers States. The visit was said to be part of the amnesty policy of the state government.
According to Saturday Sun findings, the journey of Edward Leera to the grave began when the team said to be returning to Rivers State was stopped by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) which was then under the command of the now embattled Abba Kyari. The IRT team led by ASP David Amen Agbo arrested Leera and some other people in the entourage for illegal possession of arms and thereafter detained them at IRT D Division Itam in Uyo, Akwa- Ibom State.
Curiously, while others arrested and detained with him were released, Edward was not left off the hook until two weeks later, on August 17, 2019. But it was a short-lived freedom; he was reportedly rearrested by the IRT team on November 1 2019. His brother, Confidence Leera, irked that the police were dragging his brother here and there for no just cause, dragged the Police to the Rivers State High Court to enforce Edward’s fundamental human rights. Unknown to him then, never would he see his brother alive again.
Justice G.C Aguma, in his ruling on December 19, ordered the IRT to release him immediately. But the court order was ignored. Despite the suit filed by the IRT, number PHC/287/CR/2020 against Edward and one Nnamdi Derem Everest, the police not only ignored the order to produce the two defendants in court but also refused to attend proceedings. This prompted Justice E.N Ogbuji to strike out the case.
Anxious to establish Edward’s whereabouts, members of the Leera family contacted the Complaints Response Unit of the Nigeria Police but all their efforts to see Edward proved futile. This prompted them to write a petition in November 2020 to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) established to look into cases of police brutality. It was gathered that during one of the hearings of the panel, Agbo, the police officer in charge of the case, reportedly dropped a hint that Edward and Everest were hit by bullets on June 20, 2020, when some boys engaged the IRT team in a gun duel at Boue community in Ogoniland.
Justice Suleiman Galadima, who chaired the NHRC panel on November 16, 2020, gave the IRT 24 hours to produce Edward. Since then, that order has not been carried out and the family is crying out for justice over the alleged murder of their son by those who are supposed to protect his life.
In an interview with Saturday Sun, Edward’s elder brother, Confidence Leera said his own life had been threatened several times in his bid to see that justice is done over the case. But he vowed that he would not rest until that objective is achieved for his late brother. He noted that the police had tried all the tricks in the books to make the matter die a natural death. But he asserted that the blood of his dead brother has continued to cry out for justice.
Confidence, in a chat with Saturday Sun, recalled some of the things he had been through because of the case:
He said: “I was prevented from seeing him and I went to my lawyer and filed a suit of fundamental human rights where the court papers were served on the IRT team and the IGP. They did not respond all through the court proceedings until the case was struck out. The judge ruled that Edward should be released and the defendants were asked to pay N5, 000 daily for the time he was detained. The judgment was served on the IG and the IRT team. I also wrote a petition to the IGP that Edward’s life was under threat.
“We followed up with another petition to the Response Unit and the IGP office. We filed a petition to the IGP. We later learnt that Edward was charged to court but was not taken there. We got warrants to produce him in court. But they refused. The IRT team ignored all directives. On my own, I wrote to the Human Rights Commission and that matter was brought before the panel in Abuja. A judgement was given and we were awarded a compensation of N10 million. The panel said that Edward was extra-judicially killed by the IRT team.
“I want justice. The Leera family wants justice. I want Nigerians to join me to demand justice and fight this injustice. The police team that killed Edward cannot be above the law. Every day his wife is crying. We have not seen his body. They said it is in the mortuary. I need justice. These officers should face the law.”
Meanwhile, the Legal Assistance and Citizens Rights Initiative (LACRI) has waded into the matter. A quasi-legal intervention and advocacy initiative, it was instituted to provide legal aid support instruments to people who are unable to gain equitable access to the complex Nigerian justice system, as well as mediate for indigent citizens languishing in Nigerian prisons but who are unable to afford legal representation.
In further pursuance of the case, its Executive Secretary, Arinze Odiari has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Baba Ahmed Alkali to get to the root of Edward’s disappearance and ensure swift justice to save the image of the police.
He said: “I want to call on the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that his men do not disgrace the force. Every claim and allegation should not be swept under the carpet; everything should be investigated.”
