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On Saturday, December 28, 2019, the police from the FCT Abuja Command arrested four men at the scene of robbing a bank in Mpape, Abuja. That was the proper thing to do, and we commend the police for the arrests. On Tuesday, December 31, 2019, the police paraded the four men before the press and the public. Also, the police obtained confessional statements from the men. Having observed the pictures, DPA has noticed that there is no evidence that the men were tortured. Again, we commend the police for not using torture to extract information from the suspects. The world shall recall that the reason DPA criticized the police as regards the parading of Paul Jekwu Ezeugwu and Emmanuel Adogah in the case of Charity Aiyedegbon was because the two men were tortured and there was visible evidence of torture at the time they were paraded. Even without any evidence of the use of torture in the instant case, DPA maintains that the use of torture by the Nigerian police in other cases is against the law and against international practice. We had in the past criticized the police for the use of torture. DPA is pleased to think that Police Commissioner Bala Ciroma is beginning to listen to voices like DPA's by not using torture in the instant case. A police officer well trained in the art of interrogation should be able to obtain information and investigate a crime without resorting to torture. And this appears to have been the case here. However, DPA has one reservation as regards the police handling of this case since the men were arrested. How come that the men were paraded and confession obtained without any indication that the men had the services of lawyers? The men ought to have lawyers in order for the confessions they gave to withstand any challenge from their lawyers in court. If these men had no lawyers and confessional statements were obtained from them and they have been paraded, then the police have shown incompetence because they run the risk of having the entire confession thrown out of court and the men may not be convicted in the end. That is why it is important that the police should follow the procedure set out for handling of suspects. The Nigerian police, particularly the FCT Command, have notoriously ignored proper procedure in the handling of suspects. As a result, the conviction rate achieved by the police is less than 10%. That is to say, out of every ten suspects they charge to court, they are able to convict less than one. Unfortunately, the police blame this on the judges and they resort to extra judicial killings to compensate for their incompetence. DPA therefore calls upon CP Bala Ciroma to promptly charge these men to court. We are concerned that increasingly, Nigerian police treat the parading of suspects as an equivalent to proper prosecution. They quickly parade suspects and then detain them and not take them to trial. There is something particularly disturbing about the parading of these men. Why parade them and disclose their confessional statement when you had not arrested all those involved in the crime? It raises questions about the purpose of the parading. It seems to be more for cheap publicity for the police than for a genuine or proper law enforcement effort. In any event, since these men have been paraded, the police have no reason not to charge them to court immediately. Any claim that investigation has not been completed is not a valid reason not to charge them to court. Besides, if it was okay to parade them (even when their arrest was highly publicized) and to disclose their confessional statements, the police should be ready to charge them to court. We are concerned that if the police don't handle this case well, they will compromise it and it will become like other cases that never went to court despite public parading. Example is the case of those who confessed to killing Air Marshal Alex Badeh. Those men confessed and were paraded twelve months ago, but have not been charged to court.

The DPA organization in Nigeria reacted positively to the arrest of some armed robbery suspects in Mpape Abuja on 27th December 2019. About 5 armed men attacked a First Bank branch office in a bid to rob. But a combined team of security forces responded to the scene and foiled the attack while arresting 4 of the men and killing one. This was according to media report. Reacting to this incident, DPA issued the following statement on its social media handle. DPA RESPONDS TO THE ARREST OF ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECTS IN MPAPE ABUJA We commend the police for foiling the attempted robbery in Mpape, Abuja, on December 27, 2019, and for the arrest of the suspects. We appreciate the courage and bravery it takes for the police to confront and successfully subdue an armed suspect. Every officer involved in arresting the suspects deserves commendation and even a raise. As the police have acted to enforce the law, we urge them to continue to act within the law. The police must now conduct full and professionally sound investigation and charge the suspects to court where we expect they will be convicted and sentenced accordingly. It is only the Court of law that can determine who is guilty and what punishment to allocate to that person. And where the punishment is death, only the Court can pronounce such punishment. If the mob does it, it is called jungle justice. If the police does it, it is called atrocity or extra-judicial killing. DPA opposes jungle justice, atrocities and extra-judicial killings. We encourage every citizen of this country to support the police. We also urge the police to follow the law and due process in investigating this case. So, no torture, and no forced confession. If the police remain professional in their handling of this case, they will get the evidence they need to convict the suspects without engaging in any improper conduct as officers. And it is by following due process that the truth will be vindicated. Again, commendations to the officers.   NOTE: The Due Process Advocates Foundation (DPA) was Founded by Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire

Securing the rights of individuals within the law is a key way to secure the stability of the country. As long as DSS can arrest people and detain them against court orders, as long as the police can frame up people and bribe judges to detain them based on trumped up charges: as long as these can happen on a system level basis, it will be legitimate to seek a break up of the country. So, inadvertently or due to lack of strategic thinking, DSS and the police and other Nigerian security forces have done more than anyone else to push Nigeria toward a breakup. And given the level of these problems in Nigeria, it is almost inevitable that Nigerian leaders cannot govern Nigeria as one country. Thus conclusion is based on their inability to secure the basic rights and freedoms of the individuals and communities. Understanding that the breakup of Nigeria is tending toward an existential necessity, rather than a mere ego-tripping exercise is the key to progress. It is inevitable and it is a necessity. If one understands so, then the focus shall be on how to manage that process rather than on the costly, but doomed effort to stop the unstoppable. This strategic knowledge is something that both those who will lead the breakup and those who will try to oppose it should have. On the part of those who want the breakup, they need this knowledge to understand the best terms and conditions on which they will achieve their aim. On the part of those who would try to resist the breakup, they need it in order to understand the best terms and conditions that can be negotiated. It is all for the efficient management of an inevitable breakup. In fairness to all sides, the question could still be asked: is the breakup inevitable? The answer is that there is no realistic alternative to a breakup. Breakup of Nigeria can be pursued on the basis of administrative efficiency if not on the basis of ethnic justice. Constantly declaring that Nigeria one united or indivisible country is actually a mockery to human intelligence, when done in face of mounting evidence to the contrary. In conclusion, the leaders of both the Nigerian police and DSS have done more than IPOB to push Nigeria toward a breakup.

Securing the rights of individuals within the law is a key way to secure the stability of the country. As long as DSS can arrest people and detain them against court orders, as long as the police can frame up people and bribe judges to detain them based on trumped up charges: as long as these can happen on a system level basis, it will be legitimate to seek a break up of the country. So, inadvertently or due to lack of strategic thinking, DSS and the police and other Nigerian security forces have done more than anyone else to push Nigeria toward a breakup. And given the level of these problems in Nigeria, it is almost inevitable that Nigerian leaders cannot govern Nigeria as one country. Thus conclusion is based on their inability to secure the basic rights and freedoms of the individuals and communities. Understanding that the breakup of Nigeria is tending toward an existential necessity, rather than a mere ego-tripping exercise is the key to progress. It is inevitable and it is a necessity. If one understands so, then the focus shall be on how to manage that process rather than on the costly, but doomed effort to stop the unstoppable. This strategic knowledge is something that both those who will lead the breakup and those who will try to oppose it should have. On the part of those who want the breakup, they need this knowledge to understand the best terms and conditions on which they will achieve their aim. On the part of those who would try to resist the breakup, they need it in order to understand the best terms and conditions that can be negotiated. It is all for the efficient management of an inevitable breakup. In fairness to all sides, the question could still be asked: is the breakup inevitable? The answer is that there is no realistic alternative to a breakup. Breakup of Nigeria can be pursued on the basis of administrative efficiency if not on the basis of ethnic justice. Constantly declaring that Nigeria one united or indivisible country is actually a mockery to human intelligence, when done in face of mounting evidence to the contrary. In conclusion, the leaders of both the Nigerian police and DSS have done more than IPOB to push Nigeria toward a breakup.

The woman caught in viral video attempting to kill a young girl that happened to be her maid has been arrested. Her name is Amaka Otolehi from Ngor-Okpala in Imo State. She is married to Nkem Otolehi. The girl in question is Peace Goewam (from Jos) while Jonathan Goewam is her uncle that gave her to the Otolehi family. They all appear in the pictures below. To determine what should happen to the woman, we have to be clear as to what happened and what we saw on that video. It is clear that the woman (Amaka Otolehi) attempted to kill the girl (Peace Goewam). We shall use her action to infer her intent. It is important that Amaka be stopped from killing Peace or any other child. It is also important that we send a message to all other women like Amaka that the society will not allow anybody to try what Amaka did. How best do we achieve these two objectives? The state needs to prosecute Amaka and send her to jail upon conviction. This is the very minimum that should happen. But there are other adults involved in this. Mr. Nkem Otolehi lives in the same house with Amaka and Peace. He has seen Amaka maltreat Peace. Even though he had a duty to protect Peace and to restrain Amaka, he failed to perform those duties. That is criminal negligence and abuse of a child. The society needs to wake him up to his duties and send a message to all men like Nkem. They are equally guilty if they fold their arms and watch their wives abuse minor children in their care. Also, Nkem and Amaka are not fit to be entrusted with the care of children. If Nigeria had foster care system, all minor children of Nkem and Amaka should be taken away from them and placed in foster care. Another adult to be dealth with is the uncle of Peace (Jonathan Goewan) who gave her away to Amaka and Nkem. Given the presumed age of Peace, that transfer of a minor violates the rules of NAPTIP. It constitutes trafficking. The uncle should be arrested and prosecuted for that. Peace should be returned to her parents or close relatives capable of caring for her. The worst thing to happen is to allow Amaka to become famous from her evil deed. One is discouraged to see her in these pictures without her being in handcuffs. The police must understand that serious crimes have been committed and there ought to be consequences. Finally, organizations like DPA should organize seminars and training programs to teach women about the rights of minors in their care, including their own children. An average woman should have a formal training in the law against child abuse.

Contrary to what many may assume, the prison or correctional center, as it is now called, is a community of its own, despite certain obvious restrictions.

Tomorrow is the Christmas. Can you imagine what Christmas in prison is like? It may shock you, but the prison community will not be as much of a difference than what we have outside the prison. The prison community will have church activities. The Cardinal of Abuja will celebrate mass and have many events in the prison tomorrow. Many people from outside the prison will like to attend the Christmas events taking place in the prison. The prison inmates have their various organizations or clubs and each will be holding Christmas event. DPA decided to add to the fun of Christmas for the inmates. We had planned to deliver food to the inmates. We had planned to deliver cooked food in take-away dishes. But on a second thought, we realized that it will be fun if the inmates were allowed to cook the food and distribute among themselves. So, we decided to deliver the food, including goats, chicken and the rest. Today, our team was in the prison to deliver a beautiful goat in addition to other items needed. Some additional ingredients will get there in the morning. We understand that the inmates are so excited about this. They have broken themselves into task forces - one to kill and process the meat, another to cook, another to distribute the food and the drinks. It seems it will be a great fun for them. All the warders on duty will also enjoy. We are happy we are able to put smiles on the faces of as many as possible prison inmates. We are also grateful to our members who contributed to this project. God will bless you all. Merry Christmas! The goat in the picture is part of the items delivered to the inmates today. What a beautiful animal.