The trial of six policemen accused of killing six traders (known as Apo six) in 2005 in Abuja, ended yesterday with the conviction of two of them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim, Nicholas Zakaria, Sadiq Salami, Ezekiel Acheneje and Emmanuel Baba were charged to court on a nine-count charge of conspiracy and culpable homicide over the death of the six traders.
The sixth policeman, who the prosecution named in the charge, but was said to be at large – Othman Abdulsalam – was never produced in court in the course of the trial.
Justice Ishaq Bello, who is the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), acquitted three defendants of the charge of conspiracy, but convicted Acheneje and Baba for culpable homicide and sentenced them to death.
Justice Bello discharged and acquitted Ibrahim, Zakaria and Salami on the ground that the prosecution was incapable of effectively linking the trio with the alleged crimes.
The prosecution, at trial, alleged that four of the deceased, said to be auto spare part dealers at Apo, Abuja – Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene and Paul Ogbonna -were killed at a police check point on Gimbya Street, Area 11, Abuja on the night of June 7, 2005.
Anthony Nwokike and Augustina Arebun – were said to have survived the check point encounter, but allegedly shot dead later by the defendants and buried in Gaduwa Estate, Jabi District, Abuja.
Justifying his decision in relation to Achejene and Baba, Justice Bello said he had no option than to convict the two on account of their confessional statements, in which they admitted shooting Nwokike and Arebun on instruction from a superior officer.
Justice Bello said Achejene and Baba acted callously because by law and their responsibility as policemen, they were expected to preserve the lives of innocent citizens.
He said Achejene and Baba’s decision to kill the two traders, while being taken to the hospital, was condemnable, because there was no evidence that the two traders committed any crime or constituted threat to the policemen at the time they were killed.
Justice Bello said the killing of Nwokike and Arebun by Achejene and Baba was particularly painful because they were arrested by members of the public alive and handed over to the policemen only for the same police to take laws into their hands by summarily executing them.
The judge said the retraction of their written statements during their oral testimony at trial was a mere afterthought.