Published 26th Nov, 2021

By Emmanuel Uti

Ndam Tokpe, a relative of late Sergeant Maxwell Dul, a police officer, is seeking justice over the murder of his brother by the officers of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos.

Tokpe, on behalf of the family of the deceased, has submitted a petition to the Abuja Independent Investigative Panel on allegations of human rights violations by the defunct SARS, according to the Nigeria Police Radio.

While testifying before the panel, Tokpe said his nephew was tortured to death in the SARS section of the Danton Police Station, Ebute-Meta, Lagos.

HOW IT STARTED

On February 20, 2019, Tokpe got a call from an officer of the Railway Police Station Area Command, Lagos, informing him of Maxwell’s arrest.

Maxwell was on his way home from the police station when a commercial motorcycle rider hit him, according to Tokpe’s account before the panel.

The commercial rider pleaded with Maxwell, who had attempted to make a hasty arrest, offering him N1,000, which he refused.

The motorcyclist, knowing he had committed an offence for offering a bribe, raised a false alarm that Maxwell was going to take his motorcycle.

His false alarm drew the attention of other commercial riders, who almost lynched Maxwell until he identified himself as a police officer.

The leader of the commercial rider group directed that Maxwell be taken to the Denton Police Station, Yaba, to establish his genuine identity.

BRANDED AN ARMED ROBBER

The deceased was subsequently branded an armed robber at the station and was handed over to officers of the SARS unit.

When Maxwell’s colleague went to the SARS headquarters to secure his brother’s freedom, he was informed that he had died. The colleague noted he saw injuries all over Maxwell’s dead body, suggesting that he was tortured to death.

D.G Dashe, the complainant’s counsel, supplied the panel with the deceased’s identification card and photographs in police uniform, as well as other documentation demonstrating that he was a police officer prior to his murder.

However, Garba Tetengi, the panel’s Acting Chairman, instructed counsel for the complainant to supply the panel with the identities of all officers charged in the incident.

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