Stop shielding killer soldiers from trial – Family of slain policeman to Malami

The family of one of the policemen killed by soldiers who set free an alleged Taraba State kidnap kingpin, Bala Hamisu,  from police custody, has expressed disappointment in the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), for sparing the alleged killer soldiers from charges.

Speaking for the family in an interview on Friday, an elder brother to the deceased, Mr Andrew Ediale, described Malami’s removal of the soldiers’ names from the charges earlier filed against them alongside Hamisu as shameful and constituting a grave injustice.

Andrew stated, “It’s terrible and horrible. It is a grave injustice. We are really not happy. It is like opening up the wound all over again. When you expect something of this magnitude, you expect justice to really prevail and you see this disappointment on the side of the government. It’s a shame. We are unhappy.”

Hamisu, also known as Wadume, was allegedly assisted to escape on August 6, 2019, by soldiers attached to Battalion 93, Takum, led by Captain Tijjani Balarabe after the police team which arrested him came under attack from the troops.

Three policemen and two civilians were killed during the incident while five police officers were injured.

The dead included Inspector Mark Ediale, 36; Sgt. Dahiru Musa, 40; Owolabi Babajide, 24; Farouk Bashir, 30; and Usman Danazumi, 44.

The police filed terrorism charges against Wadume along with the soldiers and policemen involved the kidnapping and attack on cops who arrested Wadume.

But the AGF, who took over the case from the police on June 3, 2020, subsequently removed the names of the soldiers from the charges.

Malami removed the names of the soldiers from the charges despite a pending order of Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued on March 16, 2020 compelling the Army authorities to produce them in court for arraignment.

The Ediale family who has already briefed human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), to help them to seek redress over the killing of their son, said on Friday that justice must be done.

Andrew said, “It is about getting justice. That is really it. We want justice to prevail. We want the perpetrators to be charged and brought to book. We want justice to prevail. We want them to be charged, arraigned and found guilty of the murder charges about the killing of my brother.”

Andrew noted that his brother’s survivors included an aged mother, a widow, Olubunmi, and a four-year-old daughter, Adesuwa. He added that their late father retired as a police officer.

He described his late brother as an amazing police officer who loved his job.

He said, “He was amazing. He was a man that really loved his job, he loved his occupation and took every precaution. He did his job with pride. He was the kind of person you could rely on and trust in the line of duty. He took his job seriously.

“He was in the Force for long. We came from a police background. My father used to be a policeman before he retired. This was what really made it traumatic for the family. My father retired and died at the pinnacle of his age.  Doing the job of the government in securing the nation, the same government that sent him on an errand did this to him.”