Anita Akpason: Why we’re dragging Police to court-Family

The family of former Minister of Finance, Mrs Nenadi Usman, have dragged the Nigeria Police Force, to court over last Saturday’s night killing of their daughter, Ms Anita Akapson, by a police personnel, in Gwarimpa Area of Abuja.

This is as the family has also demanded for an independent prosecutor to handle the prosecution of the officers involved in the killing.

The family, at a press conference, yesterday, in Abuja, by their lawyer, Barrister Kayode Ajulo, demaned that the identity of the killer-officer be made public, even as they decried the present mode of operations of the Force and demanded immediate and comprehensive reform of the Force.

Ajulo said that, “It is pertinent to let you know that the late Anita Akapson was murdered sitting inside her car! Yes! She was shot through the driver’s side door of the car with the bullet passing through her abdomen, after the killer Policemen had shot one of her tyres.

“While the family appreciates the fact that the Inspector General of Police has ordered the detention and investigation of the officers involved in the killing of Ms. Akapson, we demand to know the identity of the officers.

“For a transparent judicial process, the police authorities ought to make the identities of the policemen known so as to avoid a situation where they will ‘miraculously’ escape from detention.”

He said the family is also demanding for an independent prosecutor to handle the prosecution of the officers, noting that, “History has shown that the Police can go to any length to protect their own, and this may not be different because till date, nothing substantial has been done in the prosecution of the officer that killed Ms. Linda Angela Igwetu, the NYSC member that was killed in July this year.

“We urge that this matter should not be swept under the carpet because as a family we are willing to go to any length to get justice for our daughter.

The family recalled that:  “On the night of Saturday, October 13, 2018, four persons driving a Mazda car, trailed, targeted, intercepted, brushed and blocked the vehicle being driven by the late Anita after which one of the occupants of the vehicle came out to shoot at the rear tyre of her vehicle and shot her at close range. “This fellow, who was later identified as a Superintendent of Police, shot into the air to disperse crowd, but when his bullet got expended, he immediately brought out his identity card to identify himself as a Police officer.

“Late Anita, a 31-year-old lady, who recently returned from the United Kingdom on the completion of her studies to render her services to her country died the same night, at Gwarimpa Hospital, due to injuries sustained from the gunshot.”

 

Regretting what they termed “unwarranted killing of their daughter,” they said: “It is about time the Police have a template of engagement of its officers with the civil populace.”

According to the family, “A situation where unarmed Nigerians, in this case and like that of July, females, are killed for untenable reasons calls for far-reaching reforms of the police.

“One had thought that with the reform SARS advocacy, the Police authorities will wake up to their responsibilities of making the force professionally responsible, but this is yet to be the case.

“We demand of the IGP to ensure that this matter is dealt with expeditiously as any attempt to pervert the course of justice will be vigorously resisted.”

Counsel to the family further stated that, “It is important that we do not obscure the heinous crime by putting to fore that the deceased is a daughter of Mrs. Nenadi Usman, former Minister of Finance, rather, the spotlight should be centered on the fact that it has become a near-norm by those paid to protect Nigerians to kill them at the slightest opportunity.

“This is tragic and also frightening. What this means is that we are all not safe because officers of the Nigerian police can murder any one of us, our relatives and friends at the slightest pretext that there was an altercation even when there was none as in the case of Ms. Anita Akapson.”

 

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