A civil society organisation (CSO), the Kwechiri Unity Forum, has filed a lawsuit against Minister of Works, David Umahi and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, alongside others, over Mary Habila’s death.

Ms Habila, a female nurse attached to Mr Umahi, was reportedly brought dead to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, Uburu, Ebonyi State, on 27 June.

Aside from the IGP and Mr Umahi, others listed as defendants are the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Tanko Habila, father of the late Ms Habila.

The CSO filed the suit through its legal team, led by Eziafa Enwedo, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on 17 July, according to the court document.

The group asked the court to compel the IGP and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate Ms Habila’s death and conduct a formal autopsy on her body.

It appealed to the court to declare that public authorities have a duty to protect evidence that may aid an investigation into unexplained deaths.

The group asked the court that Ms Habila’s death ought to be investigated impartially, irrespective of the status or office of the person who possesses relevant information.

The CSO prayed the court to grant an interim injunction, restraining the respondents from “releasing, burying, interring, cremating or otherwise disposing of the body of the late Mary Habila pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

The group also asked the court to order the respondents to preserve all available evidence relating to Ms Habila’s death pending the conclusion of the investigation into her death.

It further asked the court to order the respondents to comply “with recognised forensic and investigative standards where appropriate.”

The CSO said the suit was filed on the grounds that it is a public interest organisation and that credible media publications have generated substantial public concern about the incident.

It argued that the Nigerian Constitution imposes a “positive obligation” upon the government to protect and ensure effective investigations into suspicious deaths.

On 27 June, Mary Habila was said to have died under controversial circumstances at the residence of Mr Umahi, a former governor of Ebonyi State.

Ms Habila was part of the medical team attached to the minister and had accompanied him to his hometown in Uburu, where she reportedly died in a room within his residence.

In July, the works minister denied covering up the nurse’s death, insisting that the incident had been reported to the police for investigation.

He subsequently asked the police to conduct an autopsy on the body of the 26-year-old nurse to determine the actual cause of death.

The family opposed the autopsy and fixed the burial date for 17 July, but the police insisted on going ahead with the autopsy.

Police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, said in a statement on Wednesday that the police command was awaiting the presence of the family or their representative, as required before the autopsy could be carried out.

Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, assured that the investigation would be “thorough, transparent, and impartial” and that the command would provide updates as the case progresses.

Mr Umahi, on his part, has denied having any hand in the death of the late nurse, insisting that her boyfriend had confessed she was ill before coming to Ebonyi.

The minister further appealed to Ms Habila’s family to reconsider their insistence on shunning an autopsy on the late nurse’s body, stressing that the post-mortem examination would help establish the actual cause of her death amid mounting allegations of foul play.

But the family subsequently wrote to the IGP, demanding the immediate release of Ms Habila’s body for burial. (Premium Times)

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted Bello Bodejo, the National President of Miyetti Allah Kauta Kore, to N2 billion bail with two sureties in the like sum.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on Bodejo’s bail application, ordered that one of the sureties must present three years of tax clearance before the court and must reside in Abuja.

Justice Ekwo also ordered that the second surety must have land worth N2 billion in Abuja.

The judge equally ordered Bodejo to drop his international passport with the registrar of the court and not travel outside the country without leave of the court.

The judge agreed that the offence with which the defendant was charged was bailable, and the court has the discretionary power to exercise this in his favour.

He adjourned the matter until Oct. 5, Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 for commencement of trial.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo had, on July 9, remanded the Miyetti Allah president in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) custody.

The judge gave the order following Bodejo’s arraignment by the EFCC on alleged money laundering offences.

NAN reports that the EFCC counsel, Wahab Shittu, SAN, had named Bodejo as the sole defendant in the charge dated June 24 and filed June 25.

After the charge was read to Bodejo, he pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

Shittu then applied for a trial date and urged the court to order his remand.

Mr Ahmed Raji, SAN, informed the court about the bail application for his client.

Moving the motion, Raji said the application was dated and filed on June 30.

The lawyer submitted that the offences with which Bodejo was charged bordered on money laundering.

According to him, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), they are bailable offences.

He, therefore, urged the court to admit the defendant to bail.

But Shittu opposed Raji’s application for bail. (NAN)

Four police officers have been detained by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command for allegedly extorting N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as “thieves” who had no business wearing the police uniform.

According to him, the officers mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse after leaving their respective duty posts and extorted the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity.

He said the ICPC boss was forced to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale operator and even paid the transaction charges before the officers shared the money among themselves.

“I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.

“They extorted him of N53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves, ” he said.

The police commissioner said investigations revealed that the officers had abandoned their designated duty posts and formed a gang that mounted an illegal checkpoint to extort motorists.

“They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing,” he said.

Ajao said the command declared the officers wanted before arresting their gang leader, whose confession led to the arrest of the other members of the syndicate.

“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.

The commissioner reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police had prohibited indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by officers on patrol.

He advised residents to refuse any unlawful demand by policemen to search their phones on the roadside and immediately report such incidents through the police emergency lines.

“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” Sanusi said.

He urged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other misconduct by police personnel, assuring that offenders would be tracked down and sanctioned.

“We will still enforce the IG’s directive. Some of them are on the task because they are criminally minded. They want to perpetrate such acts. If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and will be made to face the consequences,” Sanusi said. (PUNCH)