By Umar Audu

Bala Ali, the slain divisional police officer, DPO, in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State, had once tortured two suspects to death while serving in Bauchi State, DAILY NIGERIAN recalled.

On Friday, Mr Ali was killed by an angry mob, following suspicion that he extrajudicially killed a motorcycle mechanic in Rano town of Kano State.

The DPO’s killing sparked outrage across the country, with many condemning the attack on the security personnel and their facilities.

But DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that this was not the first time the slain police officer had been accused of torture and extrajudicial killing of suspects under his custody.

In July 2020, while serving as the divisional police officer of Bauchi township division, two suspects died under his custody as a result of torture.

During the incident, one of the suspects was inflicted with severe injuries.

The suspects, named: Ibrahim Babangida, Ibrahim Samaila and Abdulwahab Bello, were arrested over alleged theft of chicken belonging to a retired police officer.

While Messrs Babangida and Samaila died, Mr Bello sustained injuries.

The families of the victims, therefore, approached a federal high court sitting in Bauchi to seek justice for the killing of their children.

Delivering three separate judgements in March 2021, the presiding judge, Hassan Dikko, ruled that the action of the police against the three accused persons amounted to an infringement of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [as amended].

The judge also awarded N100 million each to Hafsatu Babangida and Hajara Samaila, being the biological mothers of the deceased, and N10 million for Mr Bello, who sustained injury.

The judge said: “The killing of Ibrahim Babangida on 23rd day July, 2020 whose death was as a result of his beaten up by the 1st respondent on the 17th day of July 2020, acting under the supervision of the 3rd and 4th respondents for no justifiable reason, constitutes extrajudicial killing and is a violent deprivation of his fundamental right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 [as amended] and in articles 3 and 5 of the African Charter on Human Rights and dignity, is illegal.

“I hereby order the payment of compensation in the sum of N100 million only against the respondents jointly and severally to Hafsatu Babangida, being the biological mother of late Ibrahim Babangida, now deceased, as general damages.”

Credit: Daily Nigerian

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