It has been over 18 months since the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to pay N50 million as compensation to the family of late journalist Alex Ogbu, but the police have refused to comply.
Instead of justice, the bereaved family has been met with what Francisca, Ogbu’s widow, calls a “mockery of justice“, in an interview with The Punch on Sunday.
Ogbu, a journalist and trade unionist, was shot and killed on January 21, 2020, while covering a protest by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja.
Initially, the police claimed that he died from a fall. However, an autopsy exposed the truth: Ogbu died from a police bullet that struck his head, causing fatal blood loss.
The court ruling came on June 21, 2023, after a gruelling three-year legal battle. Justice Mohammed Abubakar of the Federal Capital Territory High Court slammed the police for their “nonchalant” conduct during the trial, noting their failure to defend themselves in court.
The judgment labelled Ogbu’s killing as extrajudicial and ordered the NPF to pay N50 million in compensation. Rather than obey the ruling or even appeal it, the police have chosen to ignore it altogether.
“I’ve written letters to the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of Police Affairs, and even the Police Service Commission. I’ve held press conferences and sought interventions, but nothing has moved them. The impunity is appalling,” Francisca told The Punch.
She recounted how the police’s Legal Department claimed their hands were tied unless directed by the IGP. “It’s like running in circles,” she said.
Francisca’s plea even reached the Senate. In March 2020, Abba Moro of Benue South presented a petition on her behalf, urging lawmakers to compel the NPF to obey the court ruling.
“The police have not only taken her husband, but they’ve also refused to take responsibility for the family he left behind,” Moro said.
He confirmed that autopsy reports had proven Ogbu was killed by a police bullet, despite earlier denials by the force.
Civil society organisations have also begun to speak for the Ogbu family. At a press conference organised by the Revolution Socialist Group on January 21, Gerald O. Katchy and Sadare Oladimeji, co-coordinators of the ‘Justice for Alex’ campaign, condemned the police’s blatant disregard for the court ruling.
“Five years after his murder, not a single officer has been held accountable, and the family hasn’t received a kobo in compensation,” Katchy lamented.
The group drew parallels between Ogbu’s killing and the infamous 2020 police murder of George Floyd in the United States. “While America swiftly took corrective action, here we are, five years later, begging the police to obey their own country’s laws,” they said.
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Francisca is unemployed and raising their six-year-old daughter, who was just two when her father was killed. “The past five years have been nothing short of traumatic,” she said. “But I won’t stop until justice is served.”
FIJ called Muyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force on Monday, but he didn’t answer his phone. Adejobi had not responded to FIJ’s messages at press time.
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