The Apo 6 and the tragedy called Nigeria, by Charles Ogbu

Nothing captures the criminal entity that Nigeria has since become better than the case of the 6 Igbo traders killed in Apo, a satellite town in Abuja on June 2005. If you want to have an indept understanding of the mindset of the organised crime family we call the Nigeria Police Force, just pay close attention to the case of the APO6.

According to the proceedings at the criminal trial, the Apo6 --Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyin Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony and Augustina Arebu-- were at a nightclub somewhere in Area 11, the same FCT, when Deputy Police commissioner, Danjuma Ibrahim made sexual advances at Augustine who returned a negative response. Officer Danjuma was said to have drove to a nearby police checkpoint where he told policemen there to be battle-ready to confront a group of armed robbers in the area. When the APO6 got to the police checkpoint in their car, Officer Danjuma was said to have drove into them and ordered his men to shoot. Four of the APO6 were forcefully re-united with their ancestors right there on the spot while Ifeanyin and Augustina were taken to Garriki police station where DPO Abdulsalam Othman served as the Lord of the Manor.

The next day, the duo of Ifeanyin and Augustina were taken to some place outside town where they were executed. The lady was strangled by DCP Danjuma Ibrahim, according to the testimony of the police witnesses at the criminal trial.

Just for saying "No" to the sexual overtures of a randy police officer, lady Augustina and the other 5 Igbo traders were gruesomely murdered by the police that is being paid to protect them!

If you think killing these Igbo traders was all that the murderous bunch that is the Nigerian police did, you better think again because even after killing them, these uniformed butchers connived with their armourer and planted weapons on the bodies of these Igbo traders and brought a photographer, one Chukwu Chukwudi to take their pictures which they (the police) displayed for all to see with intent to convince the public that the APO6  were armed robbers.

It took a public outcry and demonstration by Igbo traders in APO to force the then govt of President of Olusegun Obasanjo to order a public hearing into this heinous crime. It was during the hearing that some police officers broke ranks and told the panel how Danjuma Ibrahim masterminded the killing. The Garriki police station chief armourer equally confessed that the weapons found on the accused were planted. Two of the accused policemen equally admitted shooting two of the APO6 on the orders of Deputy commissioner Danjuma Ibrahim.

Now here is what will make you die crying:

When the matter went on trial, the chief culprit, Deputy commissioner Danjuma Ibrahim who ordered the shooting of the APO6 and even strangled Augustina for rejecting his advances at the nightclub, was released on what the court called "exceptional and special medical bail" in August 2006, less than one year into the trial. The DPO at the Garriki police station, Abdulsalam Othman who supervised the barbarism disappeared from the 5th floor of Louis Edet house  (force headquarters) where he was detained. According to the testimony of the police, officer Othman went for prayers and never came back. Case closed! Till today.

A suspect in a high profile murder trial was allowed to go to the mosque to pray without any form of surveillance or monitoring. Only in Nigeria!

Just last Thursday, Justice Ishaq Bello of Abuja high court discharged and acquitted both Deputy Police commissioner Danjuma Ibrahim who ordered the killings and Abdulsalam Othman who supervised it all and even planted weapons on the APO6 as the DPO Garriki police station, according to the testimony of police officers who testified at the criminal trial. The reason the judge gave was that there was no sufficient evidence that the duo were guilty in the killing of the APO6.

Meanwhile, the same Judge convicted the two junior officers who admitted in their statement that they shot two of the APO6 on the orders of senior officer Danjuma Ibrahim who fed them the info that the APO6 were armed robbers after the only lady among them have turned down his advances.

As I type this, officers Danjuma Ibrahim and Abdulsalam Othman yet roam the earth as free men, breathing free air and unleashing more savagery on humanity.

Quite frankly, I am finding it increasingly difficult and almost impossible to retain my sanity here.

How do some of you look at grave injustices such as this one and just move on as though its nothing?? How do you people do it?

To some of you that are still patriotic to the Nigerian state, pray tell, how do you pull off such feat?

How do you retain allegiance, loyalty and patriotism to a murderous entity that is not only deaf, dumb and blind to the sanctity of the lives of the human person but seemingly derive some sort of orgasm in killing the same citizens it exists solely to protect?

How do you people open your teeth and smile at a police force that murders her own citizens and even plant weapon on them to cover up the crime simply because a lady said 'No' to the advances of a randy senior police officer??

Of what use is the law when it is to be enforced by an organised criminal gang such as the Nigerian Police which delight in killing the same people they are meant to protect over such a flimsy excuse as saying 'No' to a sex request from a police officer??

If there is something that grieves me beyond words, it is sharing not just the same human trait but the same geographical space as these uniformed criminals.

Being born a Nigerian and having to live in Nigeria is among the worst thing that could happen to anyone.

#ShameOnThePolice! And #ABiggerShameOnTheJusticeSystem!