12 years after, #Apo6 victims to get justice this Thursday.

A judicial drama that has lasted almost 12 years will reach a milestone on Thursday when Justice Ishaq Bello of the FCT High Court, Abuja, is scheduled to deliver judgement on the infamous Apo Six killings.

The court was to deliver the judgement on February 13, but Justice Bello pushed it forward to the new date.

The case centres on the alleged extra-judicial killing of five young auto-spare parts dealers in Apo, a satellite town in Abuja, and a young woman by officers of the Nigerian Police on the night of June 7, 2005.

The victims, Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyi Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony and Augustina Arebu, were said to be returning from a night club when they were stopped at a police checkpoint.

The police had claimed that the victims, aged between 21 and 25 years, were members of an armed robbery gang that had opened fire on the officers when accosted at the checkpoint.

But a judicial panel of inquiry set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo found the police account to be false and recommended the trial of five officers for extra-judicial killings.

The indicted officers are Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalami, now at large, Nicholas Zakaria, Ezekiel Acheneje, Baba Emmanuel, and Sadiq Salami. The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
But 12 years later, the trial continued to drag on in court.

The protracted trial has been hindered by institutional challenges, ranging from series of adjournments, problems over conveyance of defendants from the prison to court and difficulty in getting witnesses to testify.

Although the killings had caused a national outrage, after 12 years, the public has almost forgotten that the trial of the accused officers is still going on.

And the families of the dead have all but given up on justice.

The “Apo Six’’, as the youthful victims have come to be remembered in and outside Nigeria, had set out for fun and merry making that ill-fated night almost 12 years ago.

But Nigerians would later be riveted by the horrific news of their deaths at the hands of the police.

The public outcry that followed the incident prompted then President Obasanjo to order an official inquiry.

The five officers accused of the killings and eight other police witnesses eventually testified before the panel of inquiry that Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim, the most senior of the accused officers, had allegedly ordered the killings of the youth.

According to the report of the panel, the victims were at a nightclub located at Gimbiya Street, Area 11 in Abuja that night of June 7, 2005 when they had a face-off with Mr. Ibrahim after the only female among the victims, Augustina Arebu, turned down romantic advances of the senior police officer.

Mr. Danjuma had allegedly stormed out of the night club to a police checkpoint at the end of the street and told the officers on duty that he had sited a group of armed robbers in the area.

According to the panel’s report, which forms the bulk of the evidence in court, when the six unwary young people later arrived at the checkpoint in their car, Mr. Ibrahim allegedly had the car blocked and ordered the officers to shoot at the occupants.

Four of the six died on the spot, but two of them, Mr. Ozor and Ms. Arebu, survived the initial onslaught.

The report had it that Mr. Ozor had immediately called to alert his friends after surviving the burst of gunfire. It was the last time they would hear from him.

According to a NAN report, the police officers later testified at the criminal trial that the two survivors were later taken to a location outside town where they were executed.

The officers allegedly later planted guns on the six bodies and had photographer take pictures of “armed robbers” killed in an exchange of gunfire with the police.

NAN reported that the photographer was later to raise an alarm and released the pictures.

In a curious twist, Anthony Edem, one of the officers close to the case, died after testifying to extra-judicial killings.

An autopsy report from the National Hospital Abuja confirmed that Mr. Edem died of poisoning and is one of the numerous exhibits before the court.

The pictures of their mangled bodies of the victims cannot be published due to their gruesome state.

“There is nowhere else to look except at the bodies. There is a close-up of a face, gaping exit-wound at the temple,” Amobi Nzelu, lawyer to the families of the victims, was quoted in a BBC article of May 9 2005.

“Limbs and torsos covered in blood. Dead eyes stare upward. This is a human being, look what they did.”

 

Source: Premium Times

How we repelled armed men who attacked Abuja community – Police

The police have confirmed that one person was injured during an armed robbery attack on Thursday night in a community in Apo district of Abuja.

The Abuja police spokesperson, Anjuguri Mamza, who confirmed the incident on Friday, told PREMIUM TIMES that the police swung into action immediately they received a distress call.

“Yes it was a robbery attack. Some armed robbers came into the community. Immediately we received a distress call, our men mobilised and stormed the area.

“The robbers were repelled and forced to abandon their operations”, Mr. Mamza said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the story of the attack late Thursday night when a resident, Ebere Emeka, raised an alarm druing the attack at Pigba Sama area of Apo.

Another resident, who gave his name as Chimezie, also confirmed several gun shots within the area.

The police spokesperson said the robbers made away with some property and injured one resident.

“Some properties were stolen and one person was injured. The injured person was taken to the hospital by the police and he is responding to treatment.”

Mr. Mamza, however, said no arrest has been made.

“Nobody was arrested. Our men have been on the trail of the robbers throughout the night and we are actually closing in on them,” he added.

Apo Six: Accused police officers to know fate today

The policemen accused of killing six traders in the Apo district of Abuja in 2005 will know their fate on Monday.

Ishag Bello, a justice of the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, is expected to deliver judgement.

Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalami (now at large), Nicholas Zakaria, Ezekiel Acheneje, Baba Emmanuel and Sadiq Salami were alleged to have murdered the victims.

The office of the attorney-general of the federation is accusing the police officers of killing Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike and Augustina Arebun.

The deceased, aged between 21 years and 25 years, were returning from a night party in 2005 when they were allegedly killed.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the allegations, making the trial to go through full stretch of adjudication from 2005 to date.

The date was June 7, 2005, when the popular ‘Apo six’ unaware of the terrible fate that lay ahead set out for a night of fun and merry making.

The nation woke up to the horrific news of their deaths at the hands of the police who claimed the five men and woman, gunned down were armed robbers.

The case captured the attention of the public for a long time.

Following the deaths and the subsequent public outcry, an official panel of inquiry was set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Five officers accused of the killings and eight other police witnesses eventually testified that the senior officer involved, Ibrahim allegedly ordered the killings.

The report of the panel held that the victims were at a nightclub located at Gimbiya Street, Area 11 in Abuja on the night of the incident.

The panel further said the face-off between Ibrahim and the group allegedly started when the female victim (Augustina) turned down the senior police officer’s love advances at the club.

The testimonies of the witnesses that formed part of the panel’s report also said that Ibrahim’s pride and ego was bruised by late Augustina’s refusal to accept his love proposal and, therefore, set out for revenge.

The report also said Ibrahim had allegedly gone to a police checkpoint at the end of the street and told officers on duty that they were a group of armed robbers in the area.

According to the report, which forms the bulk of the evidence in court, when the six young people came in their car, Ibrahim allegedly drove into them, blocking their way and ordered the police officers to shoot.

Four of the six died on the spot, while Ifeanyi and Augustina had survived the initial onslaught.

The report had it that Ifeanyi had called his friends after surviving the burst of gunfire, but that was the last they were to hear from him.

At the trial, the police officers had testified that Ifeanyi and Augustina were taken to a piece of rough ground outside town where they were executed.

The officers had allegedly planted guns on the bodies of all six of the bodies and pictures were taken of them by a police photographer.

The photographer who took the pictures later raised an alarm and released the pictures.

In a twist, Anthony Edem, one of the officers close to the case, was killed after deciding to confess.

An autopsy report from the National Hospital Abuja confirmed he died of poisoning which also formed part of the numerous exhibits before the court.