The headquarters of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it will follow up on allegations of rape and human rights violations against its officers in Bauchi State, assuring that any infractions will be dealt with.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy told WikkiTimes yesterday after the platform reported how its command in Bauchi is attempting a cover-up for its officers accused of rape and violation of human rights.
READ: Bauchi NDLEA Planning Cover-up for Officers Accused of Brutality, Attempted Rape
The NDLEA spokesman explained that the matter is being investigated, adding that the agency’s command in Bauchi had invited five key actors in the matter but only three showed up. However, he refused to comment on how those who honoured the invitation were forced to eat their words and also detained for six hours, some officials of a human rights organisation — Council for Affirmative Action (COFAA) — who took up the matter against the agency’s officers.
“We’re aware the petition was received on 25/10/2022 by the state command and the petitioner (Council for Affirmative Action) invited to avail the office five key actors in the matter,” Babafemi told WikkiTimes. “Only three of them came while the other two failed to appear.”
READ: NDLEA Officers Raid Innocent Man’s Home in Plateau, ‘Steal’ N500,000 and Brutalise Him, Family
“Another letter was again written by the state command on the 2/11/2022 to the same petitioner,” he continued. “All of these suggest that the case is being investigated and the national headquarters of the agency will follow up to ensure the truth is established and any infraction is appropriately dealt with.
THE CASE
Baba Hayatu (otherwise known as Gombe), Abubakar Adamu and one other officer of the command, had on October 18, 2022, assaulted one Auwal Abdullahi, a resident of Wuntin Dada, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis. The officers would later raid the victim’s residence where they attempted to rape his wife, Aisha Auwal, according to COFAA.
Abdullahi was in his marketplace at Wuntin Dada when he spotted the officers of the agency clad in Mufti, brutalising one Aminu Alkali “for an unknown reason,” according to the rights group. The officers would descend on him after he tried to save Alkali. The matter was later reported to the village head of Wuntin Dada where the memory card was presented as an exhibit.
READ: NDLEA Intercepts Human Trafficker Who ‘Recruited’ Orphan For Drug Delivery
The command after receiving a petition from COFAA, invited the victims, the village head and other characters in the case, including Mbami Iliya Sabka who signed the petition. While Sabka was represented by his colleagues, Alkali who was first brutalised by the officers was absent.
Two days ago, COFAA received another letter from the command urging that the rights group to present Sabka and Alkali for onward investigation. This was shortly after COFAA petitioned the Bauchi State Police Command to investigate the matter.
