Civil Society Demands Release Of Report Of investigation on RRS Awkuzu
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called on the Inspector General of Police to publish the report of the Special Investigation Panel which examined allegations against officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS)/Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Awkuzu in Anambra public.
RULAAC made the call in a letter to IGP signed by Okechukwu Nwanguma, the Executive Director
of RULAAC dated Feb. 24 which was made available to journalists on Thursday.
RULAAC said the Police under former IGP, Usman Alkali Baba in February 2023 constituted a panel under the IGP Monitoring and Mentoring Unit to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings, high-handedness, organ harvesting, abuse of office, and other serious misconduct.
The group said the specific allegations were, high-handedness and extrajudicial killings, absence of proper police diaries and statutory registers and organ harvesting.
“The panel was reportedly mandated to conclude its work within two weeks, and members of the public were invited to submit evidence.
“Three years later, despite sustained public interest and repeated inquiries by civil society, including formal and informal follow-ups by RULAAC – the outcome of that investigation has not been made public,” it said.
RULAAC said the call to make the report public was necessary to indict or exonerate the names of those copiously mentioned in the allegations for posterity as well as assuage the families of victims.
“Given the extent to which the officer’s name became publicly associated with these serious allegations, formal public clarification of her exoneration would be consistent with principles of fairness, natural justice, and institutional transparency.
“Where an officer has been investigated and cleared, continued institutional silence perpetuates reputational injury, public exoneration is as important as public accountability.
“The Nigeria Police Force publicly indicated that the panel’s findings would inform the public where necessary but not to disclose after three years undermines confidence and fuels speculation,” it said.
Nwangeuma said the position of RULAAC was that if wrongdoing occurred, those responsible must face disciplinary or criminal accountability.
“If officers were cleared, they must be publicly exonerated, if allegations were maliciously fabricated, that too must be officially clarified.
“So we demand the full investigation report, or at minimum, release an official public summary detailing findings, disciplinary or criminal actions taken.
“The credibility of the Nigeria Police Force will not be diminished by disclosure, it will rather be strengthened by it, ” he said.
