Ex Lagos CP, Akpoyibo, IGP to face trial as Appeal Court overrules Lagos Judge in murdered Ekwulobia youths’ suit

Ayodele Olalere

Former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Chief Marvel Akpoyibo, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation are to face trial for the violation of the fundamental human right of the murdered four Ekwulobia youths.

The trial followed the decision of the Appeal Court which overruled the judgement of Justice Oyindamola Ogala of a Lagos High Court..

Justice Ogala, had in a ruling in 2015 struck out a suit filed by Akaraka Chinweike Ezeonara on behalf of the slain youths, challenging the killing of four youths of Ekwulobia by the Police.

While delivering a ruling in suit LD/354MFHR/2014, Justice Ogala held that the relief being claimed by the applicants could not be brought under fundamental enforcement procedure, but could only be brought under Writ of Summons.

She consequently struck out the application.

The case which became popularly known as “Ekwulobia Four” was filed by Ezeonara, a businessman at the Ladipo Market and leader of the Ekwulobia Youth Association (EYA) in Lagos State, alongside Chris Okpara, Remigus Ezenwane and Ifeanyi Okoye.

He had dragged the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Lagos State, the then Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Chief Marvel Akpoyibo and the DPO of Aguda Police Station, before the court for the extra-judicial killings of the youths who were traders at Ladipo market.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the applicants had approached the Court of Appeal, Lagos division through an application filed March 6, 2019, through their counsel, Mrs Funmi Falana, asking the upper court to determine: “whether the lower court was right to have denied the appellant redress under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules.

Delivering judgement in the matter, the three-man panel of the appellate court resolved the lone issue raised by the appellants in their favour.

The trio of Justices Obande Ogbuinya, Jamilu Tukur and Balkisu Aliyu held that the appeal is meritorious and allowed same.

The justices of the appellate court disagreed with the view held by the judge of the lower that the right provided for in section 33 of the constitution (as amended) is a personal right that can be protected or enforced through the special procedure but that the procedure is extinguished at the death of the person.

Rather they held that the trial judge at the lower court did not take the preamble and objectives of the 2009 Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules into account.

“Indeed, rights are personal but in enforcing the said right, a busy body is welcomed with open arms by the extant rules made by the Chief Justice of Nigeria in 2009.”

They cited the case of NPF & OrsVs Omotosho&Ors Vs IGP LPELR-45778(CA) and Omonyahuy & Ors Vs IGP (2015) LPELR-25581(CA) to support their decision.

The slain youths; ‘Anthony Ezenwafor, Chukwuemeka Ezeofor, Izuchukwu Ezeama and Alloysius Osigwe, all indigenes of Ekwulobia, Anambra State, were killed in their home in Surulere by men of the Nigeria Police, Surulere, 19 years ago.

They were accused of armed robbery working for their master, though no investigations were conducted by the police before they were shot dead in their home in Surulere.

Their bodies were hurriedly buried by the police.
The death of the four boys brought pathetic fame to their Ekwulobia community in Anambra State.

The claimants had also written a series of letters to President Muhammadu Buhari seeking justice in the matter.