The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has formally lodged a petition with the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Hashimu Argungu. The petition calls for disciplinary measures against Inspector Matthew Abu Michael and several others within the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) for their alleged involvement in the harassment, intimidation, and unlawful detention of residents in the Isuaniocha community, located in Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra State.
In the petition, RULAAC specifically urges the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to launch an investigation into these allegations and take necessary steps to curb the ongoing harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention, and prosecution based on what the organization describes as baseless and unfounded charges.
RULAAC emphasizes the urgent need to safeguard the rights of the affected community members. The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, highlighted these concerns in the petition dated August 19, 2024, addressed to the PSC Chairman. Nwanguma drew Argungu’s attention to a court order instructing the police to cease further harassment, arrest, and detention of the community members in connection with a case currently before the Federal High Court in Awka Division, where the accused individuals have already been granted bail.
Nwanguma’s petition also informed the PSC Chairman of earlier unresolved complaints against Inspector Michael, accusing him of corrupt practices, obstructing justice, and shielding certain community members from prosecution. These individuals are allegedly involved in a community dispute that led to the murder and attempted murder of their fellow kinsmen.
According to Nwanguma, Inspector Michael has been using his position to pursue the petitioners, who are also related to the victims of the alleged murders, along with their supporters. He claims that the Inspector has been preventing them from attending court to pursue justice against the accused individuals, particularly Festus Onyeagolu and Anthony Onyeagolu, who are said to be financially backing Inspector Michael’s unprofessional conduct.
RULAAC further alleges that, in a bid to keep the petitioners away from court, Inspector Michael orchestrated the gazetting of 12 community members’ names and obtained a questionable court order from a Senior District Court in Nasarawa State, far removed from the jurisdiction of the alleged crimes. This order declared them wanted for a litany of serious offenses, including conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, terrorism, and cultism.
Based on this controversial court order, Inspector Michael reportedly embarked on a campaign of arrests, detentions, and arraignments, securing the remand of several community members without sufficient evidence to prosecute them for the alleged crimes. RULAAC reports that no fewer than 33 innocent citizens have been arrested, detained, or remanded.
The petition notes that the same Senior District Court of Nasarawa State later reversed its initial order, which had declared the applicants wanted. The court directed the police not to use the previous order to arrest community members. However, despite this ruling, the backers of Inspector Michael’s actions have allegedly resorted to filing new petitions with different police units, including the IRT, in an effort to continue harassing their kinsmen and preventing them from pursuing their court cases.
RULAAC has called on the PSC Chairman to ensure that the Inspector General of Police takes immediate steps to bring Inspector Matthew Abu Michael and others involved to order, thereby halting the ongoing harassment and rights violations. They also urge the PSC to act on previous petitions regarding the alleged misconduct of Inspector Michael and his colleagues.
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