The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has explained why the police withdrew the suit challenging the setting up of judicial panels of enquiry probing policy brutality by state governments.
The Nigeria Police Force has applied to the withdrawal of its suit praying for an order stopping the various states’ judicial panels of enquiry probing allegations of rights abuses and other acts of the brutality of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad and other police tactical units.
The suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1492/2020, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Thursday denied authorising the filing of the suit.
The plaintiff, therefore, through one of its lawyers, Festus Ibude, filed a notice of discontinuance of the suit on Friday.
The NPF, had through their lawyer, Mr O. M. Atoyebi (SAN), argued in the fresh suit that the state governments lacked the power to constitute the panels to investigate activities of the police force and its officials in the conduct of their statutory duties.
According to the plaintiff, the state governments decision to set up such panels violated the provisions of section 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Constitution and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act.
It sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd to 38th defendants (the state Attorneys-General of the 36 states) “from making or conducting any investigations, sittings and inquiries and/or from making or conducting any further investigations, sittings and inquiries in respect of matters affecting the Nigeria Police Force, and or further setting up any panel of inquiry in any state whatsoever in the country”.