Nigerian Army Accused Of Shielding Corporal Who Allegedly Killed Engineer

AISHA ABUBAKAR

The Nigerian Army has been accused of shielding one of its corporals, Ibrahim Umaru, from the law after failing to produce him for questioning following the killing of a civilian on June 8 in Lagos Island.

Reports have it that CCTV footage showed the victim, named Engr. Jide Ayeni, unobtrusively waiting to cross the road when he was allegedly knocked down and killed by the said Corporal Umaru, who was riding his motorcycle at full speed.

It was alleged that in the footage, Corporal Umaru broke several laws which eventually led to the death of Ayeni, a father of two.

The Corporal was alleged not only seen driving against the traffic on a one-way road, but also caught with a passenger on a commercial trip while in his military uniform.

In February, the Lagos State Government imposed a ban on the commercial use of motorcycle transportation on major roads, largely due to safety reasons.

Following inquiries from the Nigerian Police and interested parties on the matter, it was learnt that Major A. E. Danbeki, Umaru’s commanding officer at the Army Signal regiment, Arakan Barracks, signed an undertaking promising to turn the suspect in at any time needed in the course of investigations.

However, several weeks after the police began its inquiries, sources said there has been no cooperation from the commanding officer.

According to a report by an online news site, Neusroom, sources close to the Police alleged that Danbeki has been mounting stumbling blocks on the way of the Police, in a ploy to cover up the case, hide the accused and deter the investigations and court proceedings.

Supporting this claim, an excerpt from Neusroom’s special report on July 30 read thus: “…Neusroom called Major Andy Elisha Danbeki who was accused of hiding Ibrahim from trial but he told our correspondent that the claim is not true.

Danbeki initially denied knowledge of the case, but when the correspondent insisted that he saw the undertaking the Major signed with the Police. Danbeki changed his words and said the Military Police is handling the case and directed the correspondent to speak with the MP.

When Neusroom spoke with Major Kazeem Abimbola Adeta who Danbeki said is the head of the Military Police in Lagos, he also confirmed the case and asked for a physical meeting with the correspondent.

He also invited the correspondent to a meeting in his office at Dodan Barracks in Obalende, Lagos, “to discuss it (the case) and find what we can do about it.”

Neusroom could not reach the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Bala Elkana, for comments. All calls to his phone were not answered on Friday evening.”

Corporal Umaru was due to be arraigned at Igbosere Magistrate Court on July 1 and still has not been turned in at this time, over a month after a letter from the Police requesting for the suspect to be turned in for prosecution was received by the Military Police.

Ayeni’s untimely death at the hands of the Soldier comes after recent impassioned protests against extrajudicial killings by military men who often go unpunished for their flagrant disregard of the rule of law.

In its 2012 Annual Report, Amnesty International stated that hundreds of people were unlawfully killed by the police while few police officers had been held accountable, representing a set-back for the family of the deceased understandably worried with regards to the suspect escaping the wrath of the law.

In a strikingly similar case to Ayeni’s, Salisu Ibrahim, a 75-year-old man, was killed by one of the vehicles in a convoy going to pick up W.B Idris, the Army’s 17 Brigade Commander, in Katsina State in June 2020.

Ibrahim was said to be going to Kofar Kaura to share invitation cards for his daughter’s wedding to family members when he was hit by one of the vehicles, dying instantly. Interestingly, there were no further investigations into the exact details of what happened.

In April 2020 Joseph Pessu was shot dead by the Army personnel in Delta State while trying to purchase medicine for his pregnant wife. Reports indicated he was unreasonably killed in the Army’s enforcement of a stay-at-home order by the state government at the time.

In a report by BBC revealing the extent of the Nigerian military’s brutality, at least 1,476 people have been killed by state actors in the country over the past year.

It is important to note that the Nigerian military’s brutal conduct is now of international concern. In 2018, the Council on Foreign Relations released a report criticising the state actors for their lack of accountability and immunity from international pressure.