Rights group demands probe of NDLEA officials over alleged abuse, attempted rape

By Adeleye Kunle

A Bauchi-based human rights organization, Council for Affirmative Action has tasked the Bauchi State Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to as a matter of urgency investigate and handover the perpetrators of alleged gross human rights violation and attempted rape to the Nigeria Police Force for prosecution.

The human rights organization further demanded to know whether the action or the act of the perpetrators was done with the consent of the Command.

It then threatened that failure to hear from the Command within five working days of the receipt of the petition, it will not hesitate to approach the court demanding an order of mandamus compelling the Command to do the needful.

In a petition written by the organization, acknowledged by the State Command of the NDLEA, titled ‘Complain against Baba Hayatu, Abubakar Adamu and other Officers of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency’, it alleged that the mentioned officers acted in a way that violated the human rights of the complaint, one Mal Auwal Abdullahi, a 30-year-old butcher.

According to Mbami Iliya Sabka, a human rights defender, “the facts are that, Mr. Auwal Abdullahi, 30 years old, male, Muslim, businessman (Butcher) and resident of Wuntin Dada, Bauchi Local Government Area, Bauchi State herein refers as the petitioner.

“That on the 18th day of October, 2022 at about 7: 30pm or thereabouts, when the petitioner was at his business place in Wuntin Dada market, he saw three men who were on mufti without any form of identity, beating one Aminu Aminu Alkali whose father was a Magistrate Judge.”

He explained further that, “The petitioner and other people got to intervene seeing the gross human right violation by your men who appeared without any official dress for identification as law enforcement agents.

“That your men let Aminu Aminu Alkali go and they started beating the petitioner to the extent they tore his clothes, reason being that he interrogated them for their identity if truly they are law enforcement officers.

“That after the incident, the petitioner went back home to change, on coming back to his business place in the Market square, he came across one among the persons that beat him and the community leaders insisted that the officer must identify himself considering the trend of insecurity in the country. The officer identified himself and the petitioner got to know that they were men of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)