Awkuzu SARS Is A Human Abattoir, Says NOPRIN: Ezu Floating Corpses Is Not Far From SARS

AWKUZU SARS: A HUMAN ABATTOIR

REPORT OF A HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATION BY NOPRIN INTO ONGOING ATROCITIES AT THE SPECIAL ANTI-ROBBERY SQUAD (SARS), AWKUZU, ANAMBRA STATE

Introduction

‘Violence and torture are intrinsic to the way the Nigeria Police Force conducts its work. They are active at every point of contact with the Police. Torture has the effect of intimidating the suspect and weakening or, in some cases, even breaking whatever spirit he has even before the proper interrogation process, thus making the detainee more than likely to comply with the bidding of the Police. NOPRIN investigations found that most violations associated with Police operations in Nigeria depend on this need to break the spirit of the suspect or detainee. Every major Police station has a torture chamber and an officer known as “O/C (officer in charge) Torture” with a workshop or torture chamber entirely of his own, who has at his disposal an interminable number of options for dispensing suffering and eliciting the confessions that are the principal means of Police investigation in Nigeria’.

The foregoing findings from NOPRIN’s investigation published in a 2010 report entitled CRIMINAL FORCE…, find a perfect illustration in the operations of Awkuzu SARS as revealed by recent investigations by NOPRIN.

The SARS is a section of the Nigeria police under the Force Criminal Investigation Department and specifically charged 'to combat armed robbery and other heinous crimes nationwide.' But SARS in all parts of Nigeria have gained embarrassing notoriety tainting the image of the Nigerian Police locally and internationally, and should either be scrapped or comprehensively reformed to conform to modern standards of policing or human rights-compliant policing. SARS operatives are known for arresting people for all manner of alleged offences, torturing, extorting and executing suspects and detainees in their custody and secretely disposing of their dead bodies. They also dabble into civil disputes.   The police in SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra and many other places in the country are being used by politicians and other influential persons to victimize their opponents or to settle disputes that are purely civil or communal. The IGP is not unaware of this serious human rights challenge. Shortly after his appointment as Acting IGP, he was quoted in several news reports as lamenting that ‘Our Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) have become killer teams engaging in deals for land speculators and debts collection…'

Summary of Report

On August 1, 2013 Chief Bonaventure Mokwe, his wife and his workers were arrested, paraded publicly as criminals and detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Awkuzu, Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria. One of the arrested workers, Mr. Justin Nwankwo- a PhD student at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, was working part time in the hotel to earn income to run his academic program. Chief Mokwe’s UPPER CLASS HOTEL in Onitsha, Anambra State,  was also destroyed on the instructions and orders of Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi. Chief Mokwe’s arrest and the destruction of his property were based on spurious and defamatory allegations of murder and unlawful possession of human heads and arms. While Chief Mokwe’s wife was released after some hours in detention, the rest were severely tortured and held in unlawful police custody for more than 3 months before they were charged to a Magistrate Court on October 17, 2013 and were remanded in Onitsha prisons. On November 4, 2013 they were granted bail by an Onitsha High Court.

Investigations and the facts that have emerged after these events have exposed the mind bogging atrocities going on at the Awkuzu SARS and how politicians and other influential individuals use SARS as a tool of victimisation, oppression and injustice.

Investigations carried out by NOPRIN in mid January 2014 in Anambra State has shockingly revealed that Chief Mokwe and his workers were framed up with the purported murder of one Nnalue Okafor (23) and eventually charged to court-after 81 days in unlawful detention. NOPRIN’S investigation revealed that operatives from SARS Awkuzu arrested Nnalue Okafor on Monday, April 29, 2013 and detained him at SARS at least up to October 2013, when Nnalue’s mother Mrs. Nwauza Okafor visited SARS for the second time, with her husband Mr. Nweke Okafor to see Nnalue. The visit was on invitation by a police officer at SARS who called Nnalue's mother and gave his name as Emma.

NOPRIN found that Nnalue Okafor is a member of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) the Igbo ethnic self determination group whose members have been subjects of unrelenting police crackdown, arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killing in Onitsha and other cities in Southeast Nigeria. He was arrested around Silas Works area of Onitsha in the company of other MASSOB members who fled upon the arrival of the police who were shooting sporadically. Silas Works is one of the areas in Onitsha where MASSOB has a base and its members regularly congregate for their meetings. Police and other security forces regularly invade meetings and gatherings of MASSOB members and typically brutalise, arrest, detain and torture several of them. Several MASSOB members arrested during police raids have been executed or disappeared from SARS custody.

In the aftermath of the shocking discovery of floating dead bodies on Ezu River sometime in 2013, leaders of MASSOB and civil society organisations in Anambra State claimed that 9 out of the over 30 human corpses found floating on the river were those of MASSOB members arrested, detained and later executed by Awkuzu SARS. Athough the police denied this claim they have not provided any contrary plausible explanation to the tragic discovery of the floating dead bodies or produced the MASSOB members who were in their custody. Till date the Anambra State Government- which has as its primary responsibility the welfare and security of citizens, has also failed to ensure credible and effective investigation to unravel or explain the mystery of the floating human dead bodies.

Picture of Ezu River viewed from the Bridge along Omo- Anaku – Otuocha road

The news of Nnalue’s arrest was broken to his parents by his friend and a fellow MASSOB member, 23 years old Onyedika Igboenyeukwu (a.k.a Ngige).  ‘Ngige’ informed NOPRIN in an interview that he is an off-loader of goods at Onitsha. Nnalue Okafor’s mother informed NOPRIN that Nnalue is a trader at Ochanja market, Onitsha. Ngige said he and Nnalue have been friends right from when he- Ngige- was a commercial motor cyclist in Onitsha before he started his off-loading job.

In an interview with NOPRIN in Umuawa village in Ifite Ogwari Umuodi Aja in Anyamelum Local Government Area on January 18, 2014, 'Ngige' narrated to NOPRIN how Nnalue Okafor was arrested and taken away by SARS. By his own account, on Monday, April 29, 2013 he (Ngige), Nnalue and other MASSOB members were sitting at a joint in Silas Works area beside one Rollars Hotel. He had hardly stepped out to buy food when suddenly, the police stormed the scene in their Hilux van shooting sporadically. While they all scampered to evade arrest, Nnalue was unlucky to be arrested and taken away in the police van. Ngige said he narrowly escaped being apprehended, but not without being hurt by one of the police officers who poured a corrosive liquid substance on him which later caused blisters and left some visible scars on the skin of his left shoulder. He immediately informed Nnalue’s parents about Nnalue’s arrest.

The testimonies by Nnalue Okafor’s mother Mrs. Nwauza Okafor, his father, Nweke Okafor and Nnalue’s friend Onyedika Igboenyeukwu (a.k.a Ngige) who witnessed his arrest as well as testimonies by other victims and witnesses reveal a pattern of atrocious abuse of police powers and unprofessional conduct by Awkuzu SARS. Police officers at SARS routinely carry out arbitrary arrest, torture, killing and disappearance of suspects and detainees. On many occasions, and for diverse reasons, the police at Awkuzu SARS have turned around to frame up innocent people with the murder of suspects or detainees they killed or disappeared from their custody. NOPRIN documented at least three of such instances in Anambra State

Nnalue’s mother, father and at least two lawyers visited SARS between April and October 2013 to see Nnalue but were not allowed by the IPO Emma and the O/C SARS CSP James Nwafor to see him. Nnalue’s mother quoted the O/C SARS as having told her during her first visit to SARS sometime in August that 'Nnalue is now government’s property'. The traditional ruler of Ifite Ogwari, His Royal Highness, Igwe Ogidiga also once called the O/C SARS to inquire about Nnalue, but the O/C SARS lied that Nnalue was not in SARS custody.

Nnalue Okafor was arrested and detained in April, 2013 and had not yet been released by SARS Awkuzu as at October when his parents last visited SARS but were not allowed to see him. Chief Mokwe was arrested in August. All these clearly contradict the claim by SARS that Chief Mokwe and his co-accused workers murdered the same Nnalue Okafor who is not known to have been released by SARS despite repeated visits by his parents and lawyers.

The finding that Chief Mokwe and his co-accused were framed up also destroys the foundation upon which the Anambra State Government based and tended to justify its hasty decision to demolish Upper Class Hotel. If the Anambra State Government had followed due process and allowed investigation to confirm or rebut the allegations levelled against Chief Mokwe before demolishing his hotel, the blunder of hasty and embarrassing action by government would have been avoided. Chief Mokwe and his co-accused would also not have been subjected to the undeserved and unjustifiable human rights abuse, public odium and humiliation the government and police subjected them to.

NOPRIN investigations into the activities of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Awkuzu, Anambra State reveal appalling levels of human rights atrocities. NOPRIN interviewed several innocent victims of arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, extrajudicial killing and disappearance, extortion and frame up of people with the murder of those who were actually killed by SARS. NOPRIN heard testimonies directly from victims and witnesses in these cases. In some cases SARS were paid by people to frame up innocent ones as a means of settling scores.

'Theatre of Pain: My story at Awkuzu SARS' by Justin Nwankwo

The following is the unedited narrative by Justin Nwankwo, a PhD student/Researcher at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He was the Manager of Upper Class Hotel until August 1, 2013 when he, along with the owner of the hotel, Chief Mokwe and other workers were arrested, detained for 81 days and tortured at SARS Awkuzu before they were charged to a Magistrate Court for alleged murder and possession of human heads and firearms. His narrative paints the picture of hell.

‘I arrived Awkuzu SARS on the 1st day of August, 2013. With a weakened body...I have kept my mind alert refusing to faint or collapse in the van. Yet upon arrival, I could read the bold inscriptions on the wall of that Nazi camp which reads..." Well come to hell fire" I quickly told myself that we are in for the worst. I have heard the tales of this bay and camp from Aschelon and Zeba. I always thought and believed that it was the land of mongrels and that it was absolutely reserved for them until j arrives! No...I was mistaken! Marshalled straight by the almighty O.C SARS to an open rickety hall...all other victims were separated, each to his or her own fate. Standing by one end was a police officer with two suspects who were chained together and tempo of the interrogation was getting higher. Momentarily forgetting my own ordeal...I kept a gaze on all corners of the hall abandoned with an ominous look of a 2nd world war torture camp. Ropes were streaming down from ceiling tops, bags of sand were elevated on perimeter wall fence of the hall and all types of rod and metal varying in shape, length and size was starring at you while you hear shouts of people from the back of the hall screaming the name of their late great grandmothers to come and intercede on their behalf. Buckets of water are standby in case one faints or opts to die before appending signature to already written statements. I was still taking the mein of the entire facility when I was jolted back to reality by the sound of a rapid military rifle...tem tem tem!!!!!. You no wan talk...you wan follow am go, you wan travel!!! were the words resonating from the other end of the hall. I tried looking but slaps from my I.P.O...Investigating Police Officer reminded me that I was not in this camp for Excursion or Tourism. That guy don travel oooo ...so make you tell me the truth otherwise I go travel you were the words from the officer. Meanwhile, the O.C torture, the 2aice (2nd in command) and about 4 other police officers started asking me questions ranging from personal to family to academic background questions...when I got to the level that I was a PhD student, the questions ceased and the O.C shouted ...Mr. Tell us what happened or in his Abakaliki ascent...gbajisie gu ukpa la abo (shoot your two legs). I started my story of what happened but that was not what they wanted to hear. The questions were already made and I must be categorical in my answers...Your director kills people...No Sir! And the torture started properly... Ropes tied by my two hands...by the two legs, then both leg and hand bended and tied together with a rod passing through in between them and then elevated to a perimeter wall. In fact, if you have watched a goat prepared for barbecue of suya night then you are close to the picture. At the turn of each question and non compliance, a bag of sand is added at my back to add extra pain. Cries upon wails until you pass out. Ooh you want to die...common Justin death is far removed! A cold bucket of water quickly spoils your trance and brings you back to reality. From minutes to hours, the torture lasted but never stopped until finally you start saying that you killed Babangida so that you can be brought down meanwhile Babangida is alive. From hanging on the beam, tying of rope in a strangulation mode around the neck, Inserting of pin and rope inside the penis to shooting of bullets in a circular fashion around increasing the tempo of the questions at each turn, one is immersed into a theatre of pain and your pre written statements a product of individual pain threshold. In the midst of my torture, I opted to set forth at dawn...dragging myself to crossover the thresholds of deaths but they were Anthills in the Savannah. The gods were wise! Around 8pm that night, I was unconsciously taken into Cell 5. I came to know the real essence of that cell days later. Cursed with five cells at that Bay...some are better than the others. Cell 5 is the worst because it is tagged "Condemned cell". If you happen to be there, then you are not in Awkuzu SARS because that cell for them does not exist. High profile criminals caught with military rifles are kept there awaiting execution and because our case had all the above element...I smelled the cell for 6hrs and was transferred out in the morning of next day while the director remained there till the 5th of August. From cell 5 I moved to Cell1 and to cell 4 where I rotted away without taking bath or brush, defecting in a nylon polythene and not seeing the light of day except on occasional visit. A total black cell filled with the stench of rugged criminals caught with locally made rifles. In my days at Guantanamo bay...I rekindled my pastoral skills and led the two twin cell of 3 &4 in morning, afternoon and night devotions. Sleeping was with one eye open because gunshots fill the air at all times and people are summarily judged through the barrel of a gun. Answering your name at odd hours is risky and mention of your name reminds of the ambulance job we do each day for fallen comrades. A room of not more than 2 Square size packed up by 29 to 31 suspect...heat kills, hunger kills, mental switch on and off kills and police bullets does the rest. Who will be thee next to fire? At the camp, talks of going to court is freedom itself and remanding one in prison custody was answering of prayer s from God. Every day we waited for our turn...singing to the Almighty... Abraham Blessing are mine! He delivered Paul and Silas!!!!!To the government of my country...if the activities of Awkuzu SARS is legitimatized and now acceptable, then let's close down the prisons and save the expenditure on warders and prison welfare for better ventures.’

Bonaventure Mokwe and three others Charged to court after over three months in Awkuzu SARS

The arrest and prolonged detention of Chief Bonaventure Mokwe and three others at Awkuzu SARS over allegations of ritual murder and unlawful possession of arms which have turned out to be spurious and malicious, and the cruel and degrading treatment meted to them by SARS operatives have exposed the atrocities going on at Awkuzu SARS.

On October 17, 2013- after 81 days in detention, SARS Awkuzu charged Chief Bonaventure Mokwe to Magistrate Court 11 Onitsha alongside Justin Nwankwo ‘m’ 52, Ikechukwu Uche 25 and Chibueze Ikemere (a.k.a. Flash) ‘M’ 34. They were arraigned on 4-count charges of conspiracy and murder, unlawful possession of two human heads and two AK 47 rifles with rounds of live ammunition (in Charge Sheet with No. MO/502c/201). They were accused of the ‘unlawful killing of one Nnalue Okafor ‘m’. However, investigations later revealed that Nnalue Okafor was arrested, detained and disappeared by the same SARS that accused, arrested, detained, tortured and later charged the accused persons with his murder.

NOPRIN Interview with ‘Ngige’ at Umuawa village in Ifite Ogwari Umuodi Aja in Anyamelum LG of Anambra State.

In an interview with NOPRIN in Ifite Ogwari, Anambra State on January 18, 2014 Onyedika Igboenyeukwu (a.k.a Ngige) informed NOPRIN that he is an off loader of goods at Onitsha. He is a friend to Nnalue Okafor a trader at Ochanja market, Onitsha. They had been friends since he- Ngige was a commercial motor cyclist. He told NOPRIN that on Monday, April 29, 2013 he, Nnalue and other MASSOB members were together at a local eating spot in Silas Works area beside one Rollars Hotel. He went out to buy some stuff and on his way back, he heard gun shots. Then, he saw a police Hilux van parked and blaring siren. When the shooting intensified, he ran and some policemen pursued him. One of them who almost caught up with him  poured a corrosive liquid which caused blisters and peeled the skin of his left hand.

Photo of Ngige displaying the scars of injury on his left hand from a corrosive liquid substance poured on him by a policeman from SARS, Awkuzu

He was later informed by others who escaped from the scene when the policemen arrived that the policemen picked Nnalue Okafor and took him away in their vehicle. Nnalue was waiting at a road side food joint to be served a plate of 'Indomie' when the police stormed in, seized and took him away. 'Ngige' said he immediately  called and informed Nnalue’s mother, Mrs. Nwauza Okafor about Nnalue’s arrest. The family went in search of Nnalue first at Police Area Command Onitsha but were told that Nnalue was not in their custody. Then they went to other police stations, from Okpoko Police Station, to Awada Police Station, to SARS Awkuzu and later to Zone 9 Police Headquarters, Umuahia. In all the police stations, the police told the family they did not have Nnalue in their custody. In their desperation to locate their son, the family later went to the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu but could not locate Nnalue Okafor.

NOPRIN later found that Onyekachi Igboenyeukwu a. k. a Ngige and Nnalue Okafor are both members of MASSOB. NOPRIN was informed that Silas Works area where Nnalue was arrested is a regular meeting point for MASSOB members where they hold their meetings. Several times in the past police have invaded meetings of MASSOB, brutalised, arrested, detained and tortured their members. Several of them have either been outrightly shot dead or disappeared from police custody.

Testimony by Mrs. Nwauza Okafor, Nnalue Okafor’s mother.

Mrs. Nwauza Okafor confirmed to NOPRIN that Onyedikachi Igboenyeukwu a. k. a Ngige who is her son’s friend informed her about the arrest of her son Nnalue Okafor, on April 29, 2013.

She said when she heard about her son’s arrest, she asked ‘Ngige’ whether Nnalue was alive as at the time he was taken away by the police, and he answered in the affirmative. She started crying. Next day, she went for prayers and the priest told her that her son was alive. She asked the priest what she could do to have her son back. The priest gave her some prayer points and asked her to come back after the prayers. After the prayers, she went back to the priest and he reassured her that her son would come back alive.

She locked herself up in her room, lamenting and refusing to eat or speak with anyone. Her younger son asked her not to remain indoors and assured her that Nnalue would be found. She refused to come out of her room.

Sometime in August 2013, while she was in the farm, a call came in to her mobile phone. The caller called her from the number: 08037497379 and introduced himself as Emma from SARS Awkuzu. She told the caller that she did not know him and he asked if she was ‘Mama Ogoo’. She said no. He said she should tell him the truth with a promise that he will do her a favour. She implored him to do whatever favour he could for her. He said, ‘wait, I will call you back’ and he hung up. Few minutes later, he called her back and asked if she was Nnalue Okafor’s mother.  She said, yes and frantically asked him, ‘please, did you see my son’? He asked her to come to Awkuzu SARS and call his number when she arrives at the station. She immediately went home, dressed up and took a commercial motorbike- which cost her two thousand naira- from her village straight to SARS, Awkuzu.  When she got to Awkuzu SARS, she called Emma’s number and he answered and told her to wait, that he would meet her shortly. A few minutes later, she saw two men coming from SARS towards where she was waiting with the commercial motorcyclist. One of them who turned out to be Emma beckoned on her to come forward. When she got to him, he asked her again if she was Nnalue Okafor’s mother. She answered in the affirmative. He asked her the same question three times and each time, she answered yes. He said she should thank God. She asked him if he saw her son, Nnalue. He pointed at a building within the station and asked her to follow him. He took her and the motorcyclist into an office and asked them to sit down. He asked for her name and her husband’s name and she gave him. He asked several other questions which she answered. He asked if their Igwe (traditional ruler) knew about her son’s case and she told him that her family had reported the matter to their Igwe. She also told him that the next day following Nnalue’s arrest, they came to SARS and later went to other police stations in search of him, but in each place they went, they were told Nnalue was not in their custody. He responded that as at the date they came to SARS, Nnalue had not yet been brought to their station.  He said he would take her to another officer who will ask him the same questions he had already asked her. He later took her to the office of the O/C SARS who, after asking her few questions, told her that Nnalue is now ‘a government property’. She asked him what he meant by that but he did not explain that to her. She pleaded with them to bring Nnalue out for her to see him and to buy some food and water for him. They turned down her pleas.  She started to cry and then asked Emma how he got her phone number. He said she should forget about that. She kept demanding to be allowed to see her son so as to give him food and water. The O/C SARS asked her to go home. She told them that she would not go home until she had seen her son. She eventually left when she realised that they would not allow her  see her son.

The next time she called Emma on phone, he told her that the case had been taken to court. She asked him who the complainant in the case was. He said she should come to SARS if she wanted to know whom her son has a case with.

The next time – sometime in October 2013, she went back to SARS, this time, accompanied by her husband Mr. Nweke Okafor. Her husband demanded to see his son, Nnalue Okafor and that he was ready to take him on bail. Emma said ‘don’t worry’. Her husband insisted on seeing his son saying he is worried already and that he must be shown his son, even if it is his dead body. Emma took her husband from one office to another within the station and eventually ended up not bringing Nnalue out from the cell.  He later asked them to go and come back next time, saying the O/C SARS was not around. They left and have not gone back to SARS since then. During that last visit, they took along with them some gifts of farm produce which they gave to Emma and he accepted.

In between these visits to SARS by Mrs. Okafor and her husband, some lawyers also went to SARS to inquire about Nnalue but were also not allowed to see Nnalue or informed about why they arrested and detained Nnalue or what next they planned to do  with the case.

The traditional ruler of their community Igwe Ogidiga of Ifite Ogwari also called the O/C SARS and inquired about the case but he denied having Nnalue in their custody.

NOPRIN Interview with Chibueze Ikemere, a land agent and mason living at 33 area in Onitsha.

Mr. Chibueze Ikemere (a.k.a. Flash) was one of the three others with whom Chief Bonaventure Mokwe was charged for the murder of Nnalue Okafor. NOPRIN interviewed him on January 18 in Onitsha.

He informed NOPRIN that he was arrested on August 7, 2013 between 7 and 8 pm. His wife had put to bed on that same day and he was on his way home from the market where he had gone to buy food stuff and other items to prepare and send to his wife in the hospital. He was riding home on his motorbike when he was stopped by SARS operatives. Without any information, they pushed him down from his motorbike and dragged him into their Hilux Van. He asked them what his offence was or the reason for his arrest, but they refused to tell him. They drove him straight to Awkuzu SARS. When they reached the station, they seized his phone and covered his face with a black tarpaulin and kept him behind the counter. While he was behind the counter, every one of the policemen present would come and hit him with different types of objects saying ‘you will die today’. ‘My heart ‘failed’ as I thought they would kill me immediately’. About two hours later, they removed the tarpaulin and pushed him into Cell 5 known in SARS as ‘condemned Cell’.

The next day, he was brought out from the cell by his IPO simply known in SARS as Pele. He was taken to the torture chamber where a rope was tied around his neck and two policemen pulled the two ends of the rope from opposite ends until he fainted. When he later regained consciousness, he temporarily lost his sight. They later told him he was arrested in connection with Chief Mokwe. They said he is a killer working for Chief Mokwe. He told them he is Mokwe’s land agent and that he does nothing else for him. They said he must tell them the truth. He told them there was nothing else he knew about Mokwe. They tied his two hands and two legs together behind, hung him up on a ceiling fan hook with his face down, and then placed a block on his back. He was crying for the 30 minutes he was left in that very distressful position. When he was brought down, he could no longer stand or walk.  They brought other detainees from cell 1 to carry him back into cell 5.

The next day, they brought 4 detainees from cell 1 who carried him into the torture chamber again and he was hung up in the same way again for 2 hours. He continued to plead his innocence as they continued to beat him to make a confession that he was Chief Mokwe’s hired killer. He told them that his wife just put to bed the day he was arrested. They later took him back into the cell.

On the 3^rd day, they took him again to the torture chamber and subjected him to another dose of torture, this time for 6 hours. This time, they said he is an armed robber and that he will lead them to where he keeps his arms. He denied this fresh allegation. They took him around a bush in the 33 area of Onitsha and later returned him to the cell.

On their way back to SARS, the O/C SARS said since he did not want to confess, he will be made to tell the truth by force when they got back to the station. At the station he was hung up again for 4 hours. Blood oozed out from his mouth, nose and ears. There was blood all over the floor. He could no longer cry or shout. They later brought him down and bundled  him back to the cell.

Throughout the period of his detention, no visitor was allowed to see him. Relatives who came to see him were told that he was not in their custody. He was kept in the cell without food or water, except for occasional moments when a police officer would throw in a loaf of bread and all of them in the cell - about 30 at every moment- will scramble for it.

Two months into his detention, the police brought him out and asked him to sign a prepared statement which he was not allowed to read. They held his hand and forced him to sign a handwritten document he did not know its content. They told him it was his death warrant. It later turned out to be a statement implicating Chief Mokwe for the murder of Nnalue Okafor. The statement read that he, Chibueze Ikemere, killed Nnalue Okafor on the instructions of Chief Mokwe. NOPRIN cited a copy of the statement.

After 3 months in detention, he along with Chief Mokwe and two others were charged to court on 17 October for the murder of Nnalue Okafor whom he said he never knew or met in his life. They were granted bail by Onitsha High Court on November 4, 2013.

After-effects of torture

According to Chubueze Ikemere, ‘my sight has been impaired since I was granted bail by the High Court. My hands are partially paralysed as I can no longer hold objects for a long time or perform any task with them. I have been experiencing severe pains all over my body as a result of the beatings with iron rods and wood on my legs and back.  I was also hit repeatedly and injured with gun nozzle which has left scars on my body’.

Doctor’s report on Chibueze Ikemere (a.k.a. Flash) ‘M’ 34 confirms his ordeals and the after effects of the cruel treatment he suffered at SARS

A Medical Report dated 21^st October, 2013 issued on Ikemere Chibueze by the General Hospital Onitsha and signed by Dr. A. C. Nwafor, Chief medical Office, reads thus:

‘The above-named young man complained about severe chest pains, neck pains, hip pains and difficulty in breathing, walking and standing. He also complains of intermittent blood discharge from both ears.

He reported that all physical problems were a result of the severe beatings he received at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad base in Awkuzu where he was detained when he was arrested.

He said he received multiple battering with clubs, big sticks and slaps from the policemen who wanted to extract a forcible confession from him for an offence he knew he did not commit.

As time went on he was allegedly tied on both anklets and suspended upside down on ropes tied to the ceiling. In that position he was given intermittent slaps such that he developed bloody boze from the ears and chest pain while breathing.

The clinical deductions are that this man now has serious lesions in the ears, chest and limbs. He risks losing his hearing and suffering Musculo-skeletal Disabilities if he is not urgently brought for proper treatment '.

Chibueze’s Community Protests to Police Service Commission

In a letter dated 16^th November, 2013 addressed to the Chairman, Police Service Commission by the kinsmen of Mr Chibueze Ikemere, and jointly signed by his father, Mr. Christopher Ikemere and Ichie Godwin Emerole, the Chairman of Umudurueke Kindred Idem Village, Ogwa, Imo State, the community has protested the ‘Rapid Deteriorating Health of our son Mr. Chibueze Ikemere’ and asserted that they ‘will hold CSP James Nwafor, the O/C SARS Awkuzu responsible in the event of his death’.

The community also disowned any statement credited to Chibueze Ikemere in respect of Chief Bonaventure Mokwe’s Upper Class Hotel case.

More tales from hell.

Chibueze Ikemere further told NOPRIN that while he was in detention at SARS, at least 7 inmates were taken out every day and shot dead and the number of inmates will reduce. But by the next day, new inmates would be brought in and their number increased again. From the dungeon, they frequently hear sounds of gunshots at the open space in the SARS premises. Some detainees are brought into the cell with bullet wounds. After undergoing torture, some inmates lost their senses and began to talk and behave like mentally deranged people.

The stench emanating from the cells pervades the entire environment of SARS and reveals the dingy and inhuman conditions under which detainees are held. Inmates stand up all night due to lack of space to lie down to sleep. ‘We usually lie down in turn and on top of one another as a result of the congestion. Some days, we will wake up to discover that the person on top of whom you are lying, or the person lying next to you, is dead’. Inmates from cell 1 are brought in every now and then to carry out dead inmates from cell 5. Inmates from cell 1 are also made to wash off blood of suspects or detainees who had been shot. Gunshots are usually heard at night amidst screams and pleas from inmates who are brought out in batches and executed one after another. You hear shouts of ‘die’, ‘die’! You don’t want to die? After a while, there is absolute silence.

Some ‘condemned’ detainees are sometimes transferred to an underground cell at Neni police station in some cases to create space at SARS for new inmates. Inmates at the underground cell are usually left to die of starvation.

Other Cases of Frame-up and Torture by AWKUZU SARS.

Mr. Amobi Nzedigwe

NOPRIN also came across one Mr. Amobi Nzedigwe of Akamanator village Nando who was also framed up, arrested and tortured for the period of 4 months he was detained at SARS Awkuzu.

He presented NOPRIN with a written account of the circumstances of his arrest and the ordeal he suffered while in detention at SARS. He informed NOPRIN that his arrest was in connection with a community leadership tussle which tore the community into two factions, each supporting a rival political group. He narrated to NOPRIN how a retired deputy commissioner of police from the community Mr. John Achum in the opposing group who had attempted in vain- first, through persuasion and later, by threats, to bring him over to his own camp masterminded his arrest by framing him up with an allegation of kidnapping and murder of one Ifeanyi Nwabia.

SARS had demanded 200 thousand naira from him to grant him bail before the case was transferred to Zone 9, Umuahia following a petition. It was at Zone 9 Umuahia that it was established that Ifeanyi Nwabia actually died in the custody of SARS contrary to the claim that Amobi Nzedigwe kidnapped and murdered him.

At Zone 9, the then Assistant Inspector General of Police Tambari Yabo was able to establish, through painstaking personal investigation, that Mr. Amobi was framed up. He unravelled the role played by  officers at SARS in the frame up and discovered that Ifeanyi Nwabia was actually killed in SARS custody. The AIG then summoned the O/C SARS, CSP James Nwafor and the IPO to Zone 9 where, after his failed attempts to cover up, the O/C SARS had not option than to admit that Ifeanyi Nwabia died in his custody. Explaining why he initially denied, he pretended to have known the victim  by a different name

Mr. Amobi also informed NOPRIN about one Chinonso Ekpunobi from Oraifite whose brother was also executed at SARS Awkuzu sometime in 2013. Chinonso and his brother were said to have gone to their community vigilante to report a case. His brother was arrested by the local vigilante over an allegation of kidnapping and he was handed over to SARS. While it was not clear whether or not this allegation was true, SARS executed him.

Raids for extortion

NOPRIN was also informed that majority of the people who are detained and subjected to cruelty at SARS are innocent. Some are people arrested during raids which SARS periodically embark on for the sheer purpose of arresting people and raising money through extortion to run their operations.

NOPRIN was informed that SARS operatives occasionally raid, arrest and detain people and extort money for bail to fuel their vehicles. Such people are usually detained in cell 1. For example, a former inmate told NOPRIN that sometime in October 2013, SARS operatives broke into a shop at the main market Onitsha, where arms are sold. They did not find the owners of the shop and decided to round up every other trader and customer around the area. They paraded them naked as illegal arms dealers and detained them in cell 1. It was not sure what eventually happened to them. But such people are usually extorted of sums of money ranging from 200 thousand to 500 thousand naira for bail.

Inside SARS Cells

NOPRIN is informed that of the 5 Cells in SARS, Cell 1 is for women, while the rest 4 are for men. Cell 5 is the most dreadful and very few who enter it leave it alive. It is called ‘condemned’ cell. People detained there are usually sentenced to death by execution or starvation. People die every day in this cell. People in cell 1 are usually brought to carry out dead bodies of people who die in cell 5. Many detainees are killed by strangulation so as not to leave any physical evidence of torture or gun shot. According to Mr. Amobi, anyone who survives cell 5 does so by miracle. No visitors are allowed. They are usually shot and left without treatment to die.

Cell 4 is dark and is meant for those awaiting torture or further torture. It is so congested that people stand up to sleep. Some inmates lie on top of each other, usually naked and made to sit on sticky, gummy and ant infested floor. The ants eat up the skin, particularly the buttocks area, leaving inmates with sores on their body.

Chief Mokwe informed NOPRIN that in a particular day, he witnessed the execution of 14 suspects at SARS. He called for an end to the use of torture as a means of interrogation as several innocent people are daily subjected to suffering and death over allegations they are innocent of.

Torture methods commonly used at Awkuzu SARS

Like Chief Mokwe, Chibueze Ikemere and others, Mr. Amobi was also severely tortured at SARS. The typical method of torture is that the victim’s ankles and hands are tied together and s/he is suspended upside down by a rope on a ceiling fan and beaten and slapped repeatedly. They also tie a rope on the victim’s neck and two police officers pull the ropes very tightly from two opposite ends choking/suffocating the victim until s/he faints. Chief Mokwe and others had ropes tied to their necks and two police officers pulled tight from the two ends until they fainted from suffocation. It was in this unconscious state that Chief Mokwe’s finger print was obtained purportedly endorsing a statement attributed to him- a self-incriminatory statement he stubbornly refused to sign consciously. Some are also shot on their legs and left without treatment. Starvation is also a common method of torture. Many victims of torture were reported to have had their shoulder bones disjointed after being hung for hours on top of a ceiling fan inside SARS torture chamber.

Mr. Amobi said although he and a few others survived the torture, many others died in the course of it. Even among the few  who are ‘lucky’ to leave the place alive, their lives have not remained the same as they live with pains and gradual damage to their internal organs in the absence of urgent medical treatment which many of them cannot afford.

Blood-thirsty Psychopath

Many who spoke to NOPRIN say the O/C SARS, Awkuzu, CSP James Nwafor, who hails from Ebonyi State, is a blood-thirsty psychopath who needs urgent medical examination of his mental state. We recall that sometime in 2011, the late Governor Yakowa of Kaduna state, while giving a Keynote Address during NOPRIN's Public hearing in Kaduna on police abuse in the North Central zone, recommended periodic mental examination for all police officers in Nigeria. Many who spoke to NOPRIN said the O/C SARS Awkuzu  is often heard shouting ‘I want to see blood’. The call for his removal among people who have experienced SARS is strident. They fear that if he is allowed to remain there, with his killing instinct, the  youth population in the State will soon be decimated. It is also significant that majority of officers at SARS are non Igbo.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In the light of the flagrant and grievous human rights abuses being committed daily at Awkuzu SARS and exposed in this report, NOPRIN calls on the National Human Rights Commission to pay an emergency visit to Awkuzu SARS in order ascertain the state of the cells and the conditions under which suspects and detainees are held, particularly, the mindless and gratuitous torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which suspects and detainees are routinely subjected to. The Commission should ensure the dismantling of the facilities of torture which characterise the operations of SARS operatives led by the O/C SARS CSP Nwafor.

NOPRIN wishes to underscore the imperative of investigating the O/C SARS and many other officers in SARS Awkuzu and subjecting them to mental examination to determine their state of mental and psychological health. This is particularly urgent for the O/C SRAS in the light of his reported ‘lust for blood’ and instinct for killing. His suitability for continued stay in the NPF should also be determined.

NOPRIN further calls for:

1. A thorough investigation into the role played by Awkuzu SARS in the Ezu River scandal whereby dead bodies of over 30 persons suspected to be victims of extra judicial killing were found floating on the river. The O/C SARS Awkuzu CSP Nwafor and his ‘officers and men’ should be required to produce the 9 MASSOB members who were arrested and detained at Awkuzu SARS but have since disappeared.
2. NOPRIN calls on the Anambra State Government and the Anambra State Police Command, jointly and severally to publicly apologise to Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe and the three others whom they subjected to unlawful arrest, unlawful detention and torture and later charged with framed up allegations, including the murder of Nnalue Okafor who turned out to have been arrested, detained and later disappeared at Awkuzu SARS long before Mokwe’s arrest.
3. Victims of human rights abuse are also entitled to remedies, including compensations for the abuse for their rights and- particularly for Mokwe- for the illegal demolition of his property and the defamation of his character.
4. The IGP should, as a matter of urgency, re-organize SARS and the entire anti-robbery operations of the Nigeria police force, so as to insulate them from abuse of office.

 ‘Our Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) have become killer teams engaging in deals for land speculators and debts collection…’ Inspector General of Police, Mohammed D. Abubakar quoted in African Herald Express dated January 14, 2012

Nwanguma Okechukwu

National Coordinator

NOPRIN FOUNDATION

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