BY UMMU ABUBAKAR
TWO men who were arrested in connection with the April 5, 2018 robbery incident in Offa, Kwara State, have narrated how men of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad forced them to implicate former Senate President Bukola Saraki in the controversial case.
The petitioners – Kehinde Gobir and Shuaib Jawando – narrated their ordeal in the hands of the SARS officials at the Judicial Panel of Enquiry, sitting in Ilorin, saying they were in police detention in Abuja and Ilorin for over 73 days under inhuman conditions.
According to them, men of the defunct SARS also tortured them (the petitioners) to say that Saraki bought guns for them, while they were in detention.
Their petition was titled, “The SARS officers of alleged high depth of impunity and human rights abuses.”
The men who indicated that they were unjustly detained told the panel that there was an urgent need for members of the panel to help redeem their image before the public so that they could be free from what they described as unwarranted stigmatisation.
According to them, the disgrace that came with the Offa robbery case has affected their livelihood.
They insisted that they had no criminal records and had not participated in any robbery, including the Offa robbery.
The petitioners, in separate accounts, confirmed that they were political loyalists of the former Senate President but denied being used by him for criminal activities or assignments even as they disclosed that the SARS officials warned them strongly to stop associating with Saraki.
They also alleged that men of the defunct SARS confiscated their cars – two Toyota Corolla cars – including mobile phones.
They said the officials also collected N250,000 from them before they were granted bail.
“In view of the foregoing and in the interest of justice, we urge your esteemed office to intervene swiftly in this situation by returning our property as this action is tantamount to infringement on the fundamental human rights to be enjoyed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,” the petitioners appealed.
“We did not participate in any crime and were not involved in any Offa robbery killing. We also do not have any criminal records whatsoever as being wrongfully alleged by the SARS officers. We urge the panel to do the needful by facilitating the quick recovery of our property,” they added.
Police counsel, Adekunle Iwalaye, however, urged the panel to dismiss the petition in its entirety.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Tunde Garba (retd), adjourned the matter to January 13, 2021.
