IGP SHOULD CALL LAGOS POLICE COMMISSIONER TO ORDER,
REPRIMAND THE TRIGGER-HAPPY ACP NOAH ADESOYIN NOW!
1. Our attention has been drawn to a malicious and irresponsible statement allegedly made by the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer - Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba – reported in the This Day newspaper of today February 20th in respect of the barbaric and criminal disruption of the peaceful procession on Saturday, February 18th organised by JAF in collaboration with religious and professional groups to honour the memory of those killed by the murderer-police during the struggle for fuel price reversal.
2. Mr. Jaiyeoba must certainly be hallucinating and criminally-minded to have irresponsibly described Dr. Dipo Fashina – Chairperson of JAF, Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi, Muhammed Fawehinmi and other arrested but notable activists as Miscreants!
3. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammed Abubakar should be told that the leadership of JAF deplores the despicable conduct of the Commandant of Area F Police Station in Ikeja-Lagos - ACP Noah Adesoyin, who led the murderous gang to brutalise the peaceful procession, and the reckless statement credited to Mr. Jaiyeoba.
4. The IGP must know that ACP Noah was so overzealous with the use of force and consumed by criminality by the crude and cocky manner he barked orders at the junior ranking police officers to “shoot them, beat them”. He was so murderous that he called some of his men who were trying to be reasonable “beasts”.
5. Only a drunken, heavily drugged and possessed person could have behaved the uncouth way ACP Noah Adesoyin did – a conduct demeaning and unprofessional of a high ranking officer in the Nigeria Police that has ceased in the statue book as a “force”. Where then is the service with integrity inscribed on police vehicles? Is it not a shame for the Nigeria Police to violently disrupt a peaceful and unprovoked procession of unarmed Nigerians that have marched and sang solidarity songs on the streets for more than 8 kilometres from the NLC Tejuoso-Yaba to Maryland, where the ACP Noah team blocked the main road, disrupted the procession, beat the arrested with batons and gun buts and shot teargas directly into their eyes.
6. The conduct of ACP Noah Adesoyin deserves special reprimand. For instance when he was approached and his attention was drawn to the presence and condition of Muhammed Fawehinmi in a wheel chair and the need for him to be reasonable, he became further enraged and waved an order to his team to directly shell us (Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi, Muhammed Fawehinmi, Baba Kogboyinbo, Muhammed’s driver and myself) with more teargas.
7. JAF wants the IGP to call the Lagos State Police Command to order in respect to the illegal breaking and brutalisation of peaceful protest, which has become its trademark in recent time. It is unfortunate that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP) Yakubu Alkali and Mr. Jaiyeoba, the Police PRO could blatantly denied that they had no advance information about the February 18th procession they repressed. It should be recalled that JAF caused a letter written by one of his solicitors – Barrister Bamidele Aturu on February 15th to the Lagos CP, which was duly stamped received in his office.
8. It was stated in the aforementioned letter to the Lagos CP: “kindly note that this is not an application for a permit as the Court of Appeal has already decided in the case of IGP V ANPP (2007) 18 NWLR, PT 1066 @ pg45, pg 498 – 500, paras B-B that Nigerian citizens do not need police permit to exercise their constitutional rights to organise rallies or programmes but rather a notification for your record and as you may wish to provide security for the peaceful and solemn event”.
9. Despite that we drew the attention of ACP Noah to the above notification during his shouting orders on February 18th, he violently disrupted the peaceful procession and insulted the memory of the dead.
10. JAF therefore demands that the IGP should call the Lagos CP to order because we are resolved to organise more rallies and protests to further the struggle for the social transformation of our country. Equally, uncouth character such as ACP Noah Adesoyin should be immediately reprimanded to save Nigeria from further victims of torture and extra-judicial killings in the hands of trigger-happy police officers.
11. JAF reiterates our demand for the prosecution of DSP Segun Fabunmi, DPO Pen Cinema Police station Agege and other police officers who murdered protesters during the last struggle against callous hike in fuel price, and adequate compensation for the families of those killed.
12. JAF urges Nigerians to remain firm in the struggle to redeem the country from the class of profiteers and looters and ensure a new political and economic order that will ensure that the wealth of the country is judiciously deployed for maximum welfare and happiness of the working people, the poor and ALL.
Comrade ABIODUN AREMU
JAF Secretary
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