By Vivian Okejeme
Abuja
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, declared the Special Joint Investigative Panel setup by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim, to unearth the perpetrators of violence that greeted December 10, 2016, legislative re-run election in Rivers state as illegal.
The Judge ruled that the 15-man Special Joint Investigative Panel was a body unknown to any law in the country.
He also described the exercise conducted by the panel as “ministerial in nature in line with the concept of covering the field.”
The judge ruled: “It is to this extent that the panel is unknown to the Nigerian Law or Criminal Justice System, even though its findings may be useful to bona-fide security agency as a working document.
“The Special Panel does not have the backing of any known law in Nigeria.”
However, the judge acknowledged that under Section 4 of the Police Act, the IGP had the power to constitute an investigative panel.
Notwithstanding declaring the panel illegal, the court refused to set aside their report.
According to the judge, it is the discretion of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to exercise his powers under Section 174 of the constitution and decide whether any valid charge could be drafted on the basis of a report that came from “a body unknown to law.”
Justice Kolawole said he could have nullified the report of the panel which Police has already submitted to the AGF, if a copy of it was tendered before the court by the plaintiffs.
He also held that the court could not disband the panel since it had already concluded the said investigation and submitted its report.
The Judge held that the Police panel lacked the power to indict any person or to make definitive pronouncements but can make recommendations.
Consequently, the court granted relief one in the suit that had the Rivers state government, Governor Nyesom Wike and Attorney General of Rivers state as 1st to 3rd plaintiffs respectively.
The plaintiffs had, through their lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, approached the court to challenge the legality of the Police probe panel which they said was merely out to indict and ridicule Wike.
