A human rights organization, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has carpeted Osun State Police Command of refusing to charge acclaimed suspect, Talabi Adeniyi Sunday to Court after Sixteen (16) days in their custody over alleged N650.8m Proof Of Fund (POF) fraud.
CHRSJ, also alleged that Mr. Talabi who was Manager of the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, Aregbe Branch, Osogbo until he was illegally arrested on Saturday, detained unlawfully by the Police in its custody for more than sixteen (16) days against the constitutional stipulated time as contained in Section 35(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
The rights group, however, raised alarm of not knowing the whereabout of the suspect, Mr.Talabi Adeniyi Sunday, in their custody as at the time of filing this report, after the CHRSJ’S strong worded Protest Petition letter against Osun State Police Command, its Commissioner of Police (CP), PPRO, O/C, IPO and others to the Police higher authorities.
It added the Petition was dated Friday, 17th day of May, 2024, alleging that the men of the X-Squard Department of State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had been planning to sniff life from Talabi because the rights group had foiled the Police attempt to obtain a bribe called “Bail Fund” in contrary to Section (98, 99, 494) of the Criminal Code.
Also section (172, 209) and 5th schedule, Part One(1), section (6 & 8) of the (1999) “FRN” Constitution as (Amended), challenging the Police to bring out their acclaimed suspect (Talabi) for public to know whether he was still with them or not.
Recalling recently that Honourable Justice A.O. Okuma of Anambra State High Court sitting in Onitsha had sentenced three Police officers to life imprisonment for killing a suspect, Chukwunonso Uchenwoke, aged 42, hails from Mbosi in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
Uchenwoke was reportedly killed while the police officers were executing his arrest for alleged assault and malicious damage on May 14, 2016 at No.13, Ibe Street, East Niger Layout, Okpoko, Ogbaru Council Area, in the Onitsha Judicial Division.
The names of killer officers were given as Juliet Ekwueme, Ugochukwu Obiakor, and Raphael Chike, which has been dismissed by authority of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) earlier.
Meanwhile, the information at the disposal of the human rights body revealed that the Police lacked concrete, tangible evidences to tender before the Court of competent jurisdiction to try their acclaimed suspect (Talabi).
If Talabi was eventually took to the Court because all the evidences given by the Police acclaimed Thirty-Five (35) Complainants were based on hearsay as most of those Complainants were not having any direct contact with innocent Mr.Talabi Adeniyi Sunday.
It would be recalled that the Police in its press release penultimate week, claimed that Talabi allegedly committed an offence of fraud, Obtaining money under false pretence (OBT), Conversion and Stealing amounting to the sum of N650, 850,000 in an illegal product called PROOF OF FUNDS, which involved a total number of Thirty-Five(35) acclaimed Complainants by the Police.
But investigation revealed that the Police could not lay hand on concrete evidences from their acclaimed Thirty-Five (35) Complainants to substantiate the claims against Talabi before the Court of law because the whole issues were purely private business transactions between Talabi and certain people different from the Police acclaimed Thirty-Five (35) Complainants.
The rights group further alleged that the Police were not happy that the popular and notorious bribe called “Bail Fund” would not come their way whenever the matter was taken to Court of competent jurisdiction for adjudication.
CHRSJ, stated this, after an emergency meeting of the rights body on “State of the activities of the security agents, Police in particular, in recent time in the Country’, held in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State on Sunday afternoon.
Challenging the Police for umpteenth time to take the financial expert (Talabi) to Court if they have tangible and concrete evidences for his(Talabi) prosecution before the Court of Law over the aforementioned alleged allegations.
According to the statement signed by the CHRSJ’S Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and copies were made available to newsmen on Sunday, cautioned the Police to stop resulting to self-help on a matter of this nature.
Alleging that Talabi was arrested in a braggado manner by destroying his residential house as if they were going to arrest an armed robber and a murderer without prior invitation and Warrant of Arrest as require of a civilized organization.
The statement reads thus; “The security agents, particularly, the Police should be guided during their operation to always follow due process of engagement as enshrined in the Section (33 to 46) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended by respecting the rights and dignity of the citizen in their custody.
“Nigeria citizen by birth as contained in the Section (25) of the said Constitution, has some certain privileges in their fatherland.
“We are flaggerbasted and demoralized upon hearing from the leadership of the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) through his Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abba Muhammed cum press statement that they were planning to hand over Mr. Talabi Adeniyi Sunday to the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“And we see the statement as a sign of inferiority complex on the part of men of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that they could not do better than the officials of anti-graft body in prosecution of their suspect”.