Olaitan oyerinde biography channel

May 2, 2014

Oyerinde: Two on, justice still a mirage

Oyerinde: Two years on, justice yet a mirage

by SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN make steps towards Apr 27,2014

Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, loftiness Principal Private Secretary to Nigerian State Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, was murdered at run 1.00am on Friday, May 4, 2012 when unknown gunmen wired bullets into his head, coffer and stomach in his undertake at 2nd Ugbor Street regulate Benin City, Edo State, smother the presence of his better half and in-law.

He reportedly died get the arms of his twin activist and friend, Reverend King Ugolor, who had joined Oyerinde’s terrified wife, Funke Labake, reveal that wee hours to line him to hospital for direction after the assailants had out away with the phones pencil in the victim’s family.

Some days adjacent, the police made a psychological arrest of Ugolor, a work acknowledged pain in the canoodle of the Federal Government round up issues of impunity and destruction, before events began to spread out.

It was not surprising, therefore, that Ugolor, who accused the Federal Make of a frame up set about the government’s allegation of assistance the murder, challenged his incarceration in court and duly transmitted copied acquittal as well as N5m compensation against the Nigeria Policewomen Force after the court averred his innocence.

In spite of say publicly criticisms and complaints of illustriousness Inspector-General of Police and Attorney-General of the Federation against rank judgment of Justice Esther Edigin of Edo State High Boring, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju of rank Court of Appeal upheld goodness judgment, which the police fill in presently appealing at the Peerless Court as notice of appeal: CA/B/360/12 and suit: B/496M/2012.

But description police had also considered issues indirectly related to Oyerinde discourteous to detain Ugolor.

Such rest issue was that Oyerinde locked away in the evening socialized sketch the company of a human friend, Miss Blessing Ada Ogbonna and her younger sister lecture Ugolor. Our correspondent investigation dependably gathered that the relationship halfway Oyerinde and his friend was causing disagreements in his home.

So, an inconsolable Oshiomhole was crowd just burdened by the fiendish killing of an aide go off at a tangent served him from the NLC and who he fondly hailed “my son,” he also began to see his effort plan find the killers stiffly resisted by amongst other things, class competitive, contentious and conflicting goings-on of the police and DSS, leading to the detention bring in two different groups of incriminated killers of Oyerinde, in maliciousness of a N10m offer quota information.

It also resulted management an altercation between Governor Oshiomhole and Minister of Justice extort Attorney-General of the Federation, Unshrouded. Mohammed Bello Adoke, in Abuja.

Unsurprisingly, two years after the patricide, those who killed Oyerinde pour out yet to be prosecuted.

As an alternative, the people have continued be against be fed with drama short vacation security agencies’ disagreements while high-mindedness cry for justice for class dead echoes.

Unsubstantiated Allegations The study of the killing of Oyerinde has been dogged by repeat controversies and problems; not glory least the litany of debatable claims surrounding it.

For show, while the police initially paraded Ugolor and eight other suspects for the murder, the SSS paraded a gang of outrage different suspects for the unchanging murder days later. The SSS suspects have since been disinterested over to the police arrangement prosecution.

Notably, the police that move backward and forward constitutionally empowered to make take prisoner and prosecute a suspected illegal were unable to substantiate their claims against the principal conclude, Ugolor, as the murder subsidizer.

The unsubstantiated claims and controversies included: alleged telephone calls should accomplices, records of payments describe parts or all of N20m allegedly promised for the butchery, a criminal error of forgetfulness or commission to affect ending autopsy early on the 1 incorrectly entered data for artillery and suspected criminals at Esigie Police Division and disrespect storeroom a competent court ruling surrounded by others.

The abnormality did not bolt the attention of Governor Oshiomhiole in a statement from Nigerian State Government House.

“Like every nook Nigerian, the Governor is also worried about the claims lecture two federal security agencies, which, no matter what anyone says, at the end of justness day, one of the support must clearly be playing notice a script designed to contain the actual killers and, takeover their sponsors and make understand fits into the unenviable not to be mentioned of unresolved politicallymotivated murder cases in the country, which Eminent.

President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has denounced publicly when he sequent the security agencies, in clear terms, to fish out depiction killers of Comrade Oyerinde.”

“For influence avoidance of doubt, there selling too many contradictions in position narrative of the police wallet their reluctance even to short the Governor on the headway as the Chief Complainant stomach also as the Governor outline Edo State.”

“With the level catch technological advancements in the replica, and given the police evidence that a lot of picture exchange of conversation between honesty alleged suspects was on description telephone, the Governor is exempt the view that the police officers ought to have established utilization the call logs the indication between the suspects before high-mindedness detention of Rev David Ugolor,” the statement concluded.

The cumulative chattels of the contradictions on leadership search for justice could pule have been painted sordidly fail to see any other person than Nigerian State Attorney- General and Delegate of Justice, Mr.

Henry William Idahagbon.

In an exclusive interview, Idahagbon lamented, “The position now anticipation that the matter has antiquated stalemated. This is the inimitable country in the world whirl location such a thing will put pen to paper possible: where you have deuce different security organs of state parading two different sets clench criminals who claimed to own acquire killed only one person.

Oyerinde could have only been attach at a particular time prep between a gang of criminals. Desirable, for us to have pair sets claiming to have deal with him, it is not feasible for a man to break down killed twice. So, that has created the stalemate. Honestly, achieve something to navigate out of meander stalemate, I cannot pontificate revolution it right here.

But noisy has created difficulties for condition as prosecutors.”

Motives for Oyerinde Murder

The Nigeria Police Force in Abuja traced four possible motives take over the murder. They were: federal assassination, landlord and tenant dilemma, armed robbery, and Nigeria Business Congress (NLC) leadership dispute. Leadership police explained that “the decisive of media reports cum speculations on political assassination, perhaps, proceeding discharge from the heightened political wear as a result of greatness impending governorship election in picture state,” informed the searchlight strong-willed political assassination after the ultimate accident involving the governor reduce April 28th 2012.

The police besides explained that Oyerinde had uncut legal dispute with his innkeeper freeholder, Architect Hope Akpo Eju, expend which reason the landlord out in the cold paying his family a pity visit after his death.

The the long arm of the law also argued that the circumstance that the two girlfriends Oyerinde lodged in a hotel bundle Benin socialized with him turf Ugolor earlier in the eventide of May 3rd 2012, conscious the motive of armed theft to ascertain whether anybody trailed them from the hotel avoid back.

Furthermore, the police explained ditch the motive of NLC guidance dispute was to determine whether one likes it the expected assumption of department by Oyerinde as Acting Secretary-General of NLC followed due action and whether it was standard cordially or acrimoniously.

But there was a fifth motive the fuzz did not know about, ingenious certain nude picture of great top politician that was renew on the internet, as Meet Mirror investigation revealed.

Oyerinde was said to have damned birth consequences of posting the recall, as our correspondent discovered, be equal with the intention of publicly taunting the governorship campaign of glory People’s Democratic Party (PDP) arbitrate Edo State, against the aid of some senior government corridors of power, who declined to post influence picture for fear of turn out killed and who craved blankness to speak.

House of Representatives Report

Following an investigative hearing that was conducted last year, the Pied-а-terre of Representatives availed its recommendations in a report titled: Make a note of of the Committee on Tell Petitions on the Petition dampen the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Edo State on loftiness Murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde and Alleged Complicity of Policemen in Shoddy Investigation, a 20-page report released at the gratify of 2013.

In its seven-point aid signed by the Chairman, Hon.

Uzo Azubuike, the House be beaten Representatives Committee on Public Petitions mandated the Inspector-General of Policemen to harmonise the conflicting manoeuvre of police and SSS be proof against handover the case file stop by Edo State Attorney-General for prosecution.

It mandated the IGP to explore the DPO and officers mock Esigie Police Station for representation manifest inconsistencies in the document of arms in its Delinquency Diary and Exhibit Register.

Also, shop mandated the IGP to explore Ugolor “beyond the confession accuse a suspect, subject to bookish pursuit of his suit cart his arrest and detention”; ingenious recommendation that is clearly antagonistic to the ruling of straight competent court that discharged splendid acquit Ugolor in the patricide, and which the whole Home later deleted after the the cops started moving to re-arrest Ugolor.

Furthermore, it urged inter-agency cooperation scold collaboration, condemned the publication show evidence of classified communications in the telecommunications, directed the sharing of dossier of future investigation of literal cases by the IGP take up again Governors “as Chief Security Lecturers of their States” and commended the police and SSS send off for the bad job done.

A survey of the report last moon by the Network on Police force Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN Foundation), lambasted the Committee for offering a compromised report that vigorously failed an attempt to “exonerate the police on the distribution of complicity in shoddy inquiry of the murder of Neighbour Olaitan Oyerinde,” according to illustriousness National Coordinator, Mr.

Okechukwu Nwanguma.

It is even more shocking restructuring Edo State Attorney-General and Delegate for Justice, Mr. Henry Idahagbon on Thursday in a horn response denied being handed magnanimity case file since by influence police since the Committee’s implication was released. He also avowed, categorically, that there was cack-handed chance of a successful action of the killers of Oyerinde with the two reports digress are presently available.

Recommendation

It would thence, seem that the reason surrounding are many cases of undetermined trial in Nigeria is due to cases stay too long identical courts.

However, the delay splotch diligent prosecution or non-prosecution adequate cases owe mainly to slushy investigation, bad prosecution, absence have possession of cooperation between agencies, lack be more or less communication between government authorities become calm law officers, constitutional inadequacies, degeneracy and impunity.

The situation calls care for a broader support of grandeur European Union (EU)-sponsored, United Offerings Office on Drugs and Criminality (UNODC)-implemented Federal Justice Sector Correct Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC) Programme, a-ok pilot programme in nine states that unexplainably omits Edo Tide in spite of the posers of Oyerinde murder.

While the FJSRCC was constituted in 2008 disturb develop an Action Plan, dispose all justice reform programmes crucial create a synergy between distinction numerous justice sector institutions prosperous agencies, the Committee has, later a painstaking research and excavation review of justice facilities ejection a crime and justice information bank, introduced a bill.

Justness Justice Sector Reform Bill seeks to streamline the time mid arrest and prosecution of smell a rat believe in court and review representation Nigerian Prison Standing Order.

For sample, it makes it mandatory school state Commissioners of Police tell somebody to brief state Attorneys-General and Inspector-General of Police to brief Attorney- General of the Federation.

Too, it seeks the quick transition of about 10 other integrity sector bills, one of which seeks to initiate finger issue data, according to Justice Segment Reform National Technical Expert, Wife. Ugonna Ezekwem.

As for the difficulty of antiquity, Mr. Wali, SAN, suggested the automation of Nigeria’s judicial system by both Fed and State Governments.

Automation replicate the system, he says, would help to save time offspring rescuing Judges and Magistrates strange the pain of writing plenty long hands as counsels, following and witnesses argue and counter-argue in courts.

Until all these effects and other right things utter done, the cry for equity in the murder of Olaitan Oyerinde may not end.

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