Police under fire over torture

Residents of Yola, as well as human rights activists, have called for justice over the alleged torture of a young man by a group of policemen. Kabiru Ahmed, a graduate of Crime Management from the Adamawa State Polytechnic, who has been in coma at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola for the past one month, was said to have been arrested during a police crackdown on suspected drug users in his area after he asked the plain clothed policemen to identify themselves.

A witness said Kabiru’s inquiry angered the policemen who detained him at Dobeli police station, where he was allegedly tortured.

A human rights activist, Mustapha Ribadu, called on the police authorities to bring the perpetrators to book as well as pay for the victim’s treatment. He noted that although the police paid for Kabiru’s treatment at the FMC, Yola, there was an urgent need to move him to a better medical facility in order to save his life.

He denied claims that the victim was among the drug users targeted for arrest, adding, “two policemen in mufti arrested two boys for possession of Indian hemp . When some residents realised that one of the suspects was not in possession of any drug, they pleaded for his release. That was when Kabiru asked the policemen who were in mufti for identification. They brought out their guns, but he insisted that gun was not a form of identification, so they bundled him to the station and tortured him.”

The member representing Yola North, Yola South and Girei federal constituency, Barr Lawal Garba, had called on the people to remain calm and use legal means in addressing their grievances.

But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Othman Abubakar said the young man fell into a ditch while running to escape arrest by the police “after he and his friends were caught smoking Indian hemp.

“This said boy jumped into a ditch and sustained injuries. Why are they accusing us? And it was the same police that took him to the hospital. I think they just want to tarnish our image,’’ he said.