Sebastian Kpalap
The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) is seriously worried about the safety of its officials given their continued brutalization which is fast assuming a pattern.
The recent torture of Mr. Sebastian Kpalap, a Special Project Officer of the Centre has heightened this fear. On Sunday, August 1, about 10:00am, Kpalap who just lost his father and was preparing to receive a contingent of his colleagues from CEHRD had hired a motor bike (not a commercial one) with registration number RV 4896 Za, and was driven by its owner, Mr. Joseph Sunday Pilla, a father of 3, in his early 40s and a bricklayer. They went to the neighbouring Gokana village to buy fresh palm wine when they met their misfortune.
A bunch of policemen wielding AK47 and well-sharpened sticks had raised an instant check point in front of the Divisional police headquarters at Kpor to extort bribe from unsuspecting poor commercial motorcyclists (popularly called Okada in Nigeria) and motorists. They intercepted Pilla and his co-traveler, Kpalap and demanded for a paltry N50 (not up to a half dollar) and the Okada river had not finished explaining when Corporal Rufus in plain cloth hit his head with a sharp stick in his hands and he slumped. A frightened Sebastian Kpalap had demanded to know what happened. For daring to ask question, the same Rufus from the notorious Kpor Police station, used same sharp stick to tear open Sebastian head, as blood oozed out he fainted and became unconscious for some hours. Corporal Barile Emmanuel also joined in the beating spree of the two innocent men.
When Sebastian became conscious the first person he called in his weak voice was Patrick Naagbanton, the coordinator of CEHRD that he was dying. Naagbanton spoke to him, and later a Police officer at the station who refused to give his name, but lied that Kpalap and Pilla (the latest victims of the lawlessness) came with guns and attempted to disarm his men.
Naagbanton led other CEHRD officials to the Kpor Police station at exactly 3:30pm, both victims were lying down under a mango tree there. They spoke to us and none of the Police around was ready to comment on it, though they looked very sober but the bribe-seeking, violent Police officers were not there. The CEHRD team took the victims to the poorly equipped and dilapidated General Hospital at Terabon in the Gokana Area with a medical form the police had signed authorizing their treatment. After paying the necessary fees and buying synergies and medicines their broken heads were stitched, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr. Ibezim, arrived at the casualty department of the hospital where they were attended to.
After that exercise, the DPO called the CEHRD team and ordered for the release of the motorbike to Pilla and apologized to the team not to “sensationalize” the incident. The duo is still undergoing intensive medical treatment there.
A similar attack took place, on Friday, June 8, 2010, when Mr. Alexander Wikina, the Transport Officer of CEHRD was arrested by a team of heavily armed five policemen in plain cloth travelling in a white hilux car who stormed the Chief Major G.E. Odum Compound (No. 28 Ogbunabali Road) in Port Harcourt where he is staying and arrested him. This incident took place about 3:15am. He was taken to the old G.R.A Police station in same Port Harcourt, tortured, and detained in their cell on allegation of being a criminal. When Patrick Naagbanton contacted the Police and reported the case to Abba Suileman, the Rivers State Commissioner of police, they denied that they tagged him a criminal. He was released.
In the evening of Friday, March 26, 2010, Mr. Nenibarini Zabbey, the Head of the Conservation and Environment Programe of CEHRD, with whom were Dr. (Mrs.) Vincent and same Alexander Wikina, driving the CEHRD’s official van was returning from an Environmental Impact Assessment Training (EIA) held at Bodo community. A Police checkpoint near Kpor had stopped the vehicle and searched it and asked it to go, when a 2-star Police officer in the police team, Mr. Umoke singled out Zabbey and pounced on him, and tore his shirt into pieces. When other Police officers there condemned his action, he offered Zabbey N6, 000 (about $50) not to tell anybody what happened.
CEHRD is also worried about increasing Police lawlessness against other colleagues from other fraternal organizations.
On Friday April 5, 2010 at about 9:00pm, a team of Police men from Olu-Obasanjo Police station beat up Isaac Asume Osuoka, Celestine Akpobari and Ken Henshaw, three activists from Social Action (AS), a Port Harcourt-based non-governmental organization. They were attacked at Garrison junction, Port Harcourt. The heavily armed police officers travelling in a white Hilux jeep trailed them from their Oromineke layout office in the D/Line area of the metropolis. While on Friday, April 23, 2010, at about 4:45pm, a team of 5 police operating in a white Hilux jeep with registration number – NPF 9400B led by Shuibu in plain clothes violently blocked their vehicle and ordered Rev. Humprey Nsirim, Pastor Chinedu Samuel, Uche Imoh and Justine Ijeomah all civil rights activists, and threatened to shoot them. When Ijeomah, the Rivers State secretary of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) demanded to know their crime, Shaibu and his men placing him at gunpoint slapped him severally. They were not told their crime.
CEHRD had initially ignored all these as part mistakes on the past of the police officials. But, the violations are becoming over whelming. If it is happening to CEHRD officials and others and we are challenging it, what about millions of poor helpless citizens who don’t have the means to speak up or expose these odds? CEHRD is worried and restate its resolve to redouble its efforts to challenge these violent and lawless acts by the Nigerian police officials.
The struggle certainly continues
Patrick Naagbanton
Coordinator
Mr. Chamberlain Amadi,
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