EXCLUSIVE: JUSTICE FOR SALE; HOW POLICE LEGAL TEAM IN ABUJA SOLD SECRET DOCUMENTS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

Trail Reporters

The Legal/Prosecution Section Force Headquarters, Abuja has been turned into a market place by some corrupt Legal officers within the Police Force Headquarters Abuja in which Legal Advice and other Legal Services are now for sale, especially to high profile suspects who do not want to be prosecuted over their alleged offences.

Reliable Sources who spoke to our team of Trail Reporters, revealed to us that the present Ag. CP Legal, Barr. Igbodo David is currently entangled in a web of some high profile cases which he is currently acting a script over. We gathered that the ACP Prosecution, Legal/Prosecution Section, Force Headquarters Abuja, Barr. Simon Loy, is involved in some sharp corrupt practice alongside some of his loyal boys within the Legal Section. One of such high profile cases is one involving the immediate past Rector of Delta State Polytechnic Oghara, Clara Sogbaike and others.

Months of discreet investigations by Trail Reporters has exposed how CSP Dalatu Usman attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit Force Headquarters Abuja, connived with ACP Prosecution, Force Headquarters Abuja, ACP Simon Loy to write a purchased Legal Advice dated February 28th, 2017 in favour of the suspects, Clara Sogbaike and others, in a case involving Delta State Polytechnic Oghara.

The purchased Legal Advice with Ref No. CB: 3514/X/LEG/FHQ/ABJ/VOL. 31/25 was purportedly signed by the immediate past CP Legal, CP Surajudeen Umar in which all the suspects were cleared of any wrong doing over allegations of kidnapping, fraud, forgery, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms/ammunitions. CSP Dalatu attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit Force Headquarters, investigated a case involving fraud of over N1 Billion without obtaining bank statements operated by the suspects and other relevant informations necessary to track fraudulent transactions.

Shockingly, We gathered that one of the suspects, Dickson Eghwatore, a current Director of Project in Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara, who was arrested in Oghara Divisional Headquarters, Delta State alongside with four other students over alleged crimes of armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms on October 8th, 2014 and the case covered up due to the indictment of the former Rector of Delta State Polytechnic Oghara, Clara Sogbaike.

Very reliable sources within Federal SARS Abuja, who confided in our reporters but pleaded for his name not to be mentioned as he was not permitted to speak on the matter, confirmed Dickson’s re-arrest by Federal SARS on 22nd October, 2015 and exhibits of bullets, Eiye Cult beret, daggers and other dangerous weapons were recovered from Dickson and his boys and that Engr. Dickson Eghwatore in his confessional statements to both the Investigative Police Officers, IPOs, in Oghara Delta State and Federal SARS Abuja confessed being a cult member and accepted giving bullets and other dangerous weapons to his loyal Eiye cult leader, Gregory, whose statement in Oghara Divisional Police Headquarters, Delta State clearly indicted Dickson as his supplier of bullets and other weapons. Our source also confirmed that a signal was sent from IGP Monitoring Unit to Federal SARS for the transfer of the case files, suspects and exhibits in early February 2016, which was complied with.

CSP Dalatu Usman attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit took over the case files and exhibits from Federal SARS, but deliberately refused to take over the original case files from the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of FCIID being investigated by General Investigation Section FCIID, for harmonization which involves 43 suspects and contains sufficient exhibits, details of police investigation reports, bank statements of various bank accounts, statements of complainant, suspects and witnesses.

Informations/documents available to Trail Reporters News desk, reveals that CSP Dalatu Usman was petitioned to the President in which the IGP was copied, over his involvement in corrupt practices and has since been directed by the IGP via Reference No. CB: 7000/IGP SEC/ABJ/VOL. 316/836 to respond to the petition. We also gathered that, CSP Dalatu Usman was later directed to hand over the case files and exhibits to a new Team leader, CSP Imram Balarebe who is also attached to IGP Monitoring Unit for a proper investigation. CSP Dalatu in a bid to cover up his corrupt practices, hurriedly wrote a misleading and biased report, duplicated the case files he took over from Federal SARS, and the scanty details of the shoddy investigation he carried out, and then forwarded to CP Legal via a Ref No. CR:3100/IGP SEC/MU/T.D/ll/14 for Legal Advice without the original case file from General Investigation Section FCIID Abuja.

Documents in our possession shows that a copy of a forged Legal Advice not certified and an internal memo minuted by the IGP to his Principal Staff Officer were released to the suspects with which they filed a suit in Court against the President and 6 others in Federal High Court 2 Asaba via Suit No. FHC/ASB/CS/17/2017. DIG FCIID through General Investigation Section FCIID Abuja via Reference No. CB:3514/X/FHQ/ABJ/G.I/VOL. 2/25, directed CP Legal/Prosecution Section Force Headquarters, Abuja, Barr. Igbodo David to vacate a court order restraining Police since 2014 which police deliberately refused to vacate due to serious corruption.

The case file was received in the office of Ag. CP Legal’s office on 7th of March, 2017 but till date he has refused to give directives to his legal officer(s) to go and vacate the court order despite several personal/telephone conversations and appeals from the complainant’s lawyers, with CP Legal citing reasons of no funds and can’t send his men to Asaba to defend the IGP.

Information available to us indicates that, even when the complainant drew the attention of the forged uncertified Legal Advice and police internal memo documents, which got into the hands of the suspects, he was simply quoted as saying, “The Legal Advice is not certified and was signed by his predecessor, and hence he won’t comment on it”.

Our reporters were also informed that the attention of CP Legal was also drawn to the case file currently in his office waiting for his directives to his men to vacate a court order restraining police and the implications over the purchased Legal Advice issued by his predecessor over the same subject matter, when investigation by General Investigation FCIID had not been concluded on the original case file as a result of court order on it. Investigations by our reporters, shows that the Legal Advice exonerated all the suspects of any wrong doing, including Engr. Dickson Eghwatore and his boys over alleged crimes of cultism, robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

The purchased Legal Advice in our possession stated that Engr. Dickson is innocent, while the four students arrested along side with him have all been charged to court.

This is the height of impunity Legal recklessness, professional misconducts and corruption on the part of the officer(s) who wrote such a false/misleading report and Legal Advice; as the following questions raised will expose the truth:
1. Which Police formation charged the four students to court?

2. Where is their charge sheet?

3. Which court were they charged to?

4. What is the name of the Police prosecutor who charged them to court?

5. What is the Position of the case in court?

6. Did ACP Prosecution, Legal Section, Simon Loy, go through the 3 different statements Engr. Dickson Eghwatore’s offered under caution to Oghara Police Division, Delta State, Federal SARS, Abuja and IGP Monitoring Unit Abuja, before exonerating him?

7. Why are the exhibits of bullets, Eiye Cult beret, daggers, battle axe and other weapons which CSP Dalatu Usman attached to IGP Monitoring Unit took over from Delta State Police Command Headquarters Asaba via Federal SARS Abuja still doing with him?

8. As a citizen of Nigeria, is it wrong to whistle blow a crime committed even when the whistleblower is not a direct victim of the alleged crime?

9. How did CSP Dalatu investigate alleged fraud of over N1 billion without obtaining bank statements of accounts and other relevant documents yet he exonerated the suspects?

10. Why did CSP Dalatu fail to grant any interview between the complainant and suspects for over 11 months after he had obtained statements from all parties? was his conduct professional and acceptable to the police authority?

11. What kind of a report will CSP Dalatu Usman write when all through his acclaimed investigation for over one year, the complainant and suspects never met for interview of all parties before his 2i/c, ACP, DCP and CP before he singlehandedly wrote his favourable reports alone for the suspects whom he had compromised with?

As at the time of filing in this report, the Ag. CP Legal has deliberately refused to give directives to his men to vacate the court order restraining police to enable investigators conclude their investigations.

A text message sent to the Acting CP Legal was responded to, but did not address any of the issues raised in the report.

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