A human rights body, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has urged the Osun State Command of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to stop lying against their acclaimed suspect, one Mr. Adeniyi Sunday Talabi over an alleged business transaction of Six Hundred and Fifty Million (N650,000,000) Proof Of Fund(POF) by the security with the Police acclaimed Thirty -Five Complainants.
Mr. Sunday Talabi, who was Manager of the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, Aregbe branch, Osogbo, Osun State, until he(Talabi) was illegally arrested and unlawfully detained for 12 days now as the time of filing this report on the alleged subject matter , warning against passing a negative bucks on Mr. Sunday Talabi by the Police before the public over a matter the Court of competent jurisdiction was yet to make a pronouncement otherwise.
Adding that creating negative thought by the Police on Mr. Talabi who is an authentic citizen of Nigeria by birth as enshrined in the section 25 of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, before the Nigeria public, was unprofessional, illegal, aberration, anathema, and unconstitutional.
It also alleged the Police of turning its formation to Court of Law in contrary to section 36(5) of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that “every suspect in the custody of the security agents, Police in particular, pressumed to be innocent until the Court of Competent jurisdiction proved otherwise.
It further alleged that the State Police Command was rushed to the Press on Tuesday as a way to douse the tension arouse by the CHRSJ media press statement on Monday over illegal arrest and unlawful detention of Mr. Adeniyi Sunday Talabi beyond the stipulated legal frame time of Twelve (12) days as at the time of filing this report on Wednesday,15th day of May,2024.
It added that the Police press statement, was just a mere way to bring confusion into the issue and changed the narrative by diverting the attention of the reasonable members of the public from the subject matter, particularly, the Police acclaimed Thirty-Five (35) Complainants which they claimed to be including; Judges, Magistrates, Lawyers and others.
Responding to the Police press statement, through a signed statement by the CHRSJ’S Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and made available to Journalists on Wednesday, challenged the Police to make the names of their Thirty-Five (35) Complainants available to the members of the public for scrutiny.
Comrade Sulaiman, who doubles as Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), explained that when the CHRSJ’S Legal team approached the X-Squard Department of the State Police Command, Osogbo as directed by the Police Commissioner, Umar Abba Muhammed on Tuesday,14th of May,2024 while speaking with CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, adding that it was discovered that the Police were not ready to take the matter and their acclaimed suspect, Mr. Adeniyi Sunday Talabi to Court because of the human rights body (CHRSJ) that had foiled the Police attempt to collect the sum of Two Million Naira(N2,000,000) for bribe bail fund.
Meanwhile, the human rights body (CHRSJ) insisted that subject matter was purely private business transaction as it earlier highlighted in the CHRSJ’s press statement on Monday this week, adding that the Police should stop beating around the bush by taking the matter to Court of competent jurisdiction if they were truly having proof of evidence as the Police claimed in their press statement of Tuesday, May 14th, 2024.
According to the statement”, The bone of contention here, is that the Police had violated the fundamental human rights of Mr. Talabi Adeniyi Sunday, for detaining financial expert illegally more than Twelve (12) days without taken him to the Court of competent jurisdiction for proper adjudication to determine whether Talabi was guilty or not of the allegation of private business transaction leveled against him. The Police should know that the two (2) wrong can never make a right and instead of making Talabi guilty already before the public with the Police ongoing persecution against him, the Police should just do the needful of taking the matter to Court without further delaying.
“It is illegal and unconstitutional for Police to involve itself in recovering debts. The Nigerian Police Act contains the duties of the police and at no point did it saddle them(Police) with the responsibility of arresting a debtor on the instruction of a creditor, when the debtor fails to liquidate his debts. The failure of a debtor to liquidate his debts is not a criminal offense under the law; it is a civil offence and as such, the services of the Police and other security agents will not be required. They do not have the power to prosecute a debtor.
“The Osun State Command of Nigeria Police should stop wasting the precious time of the public on frivolity in respect of private business transaction allegation leveled against Mr. Talabi Adeniyi Sunday which is yet to proof beyond reasonable in any court of competent jurisdiction as stipulated in the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Police had already jumped the gun for refusing to take their acclaimed suspect (Mr. Talabi Adeniyi Sunday) to Court since Twelve (12) days ago of his illegal arrest and unlawful detention under the guise of unending half baked Police investigation. Yoruba adage says, if you used twenty (20) years to prepare for madness and lunatics, when is he going to be lunatics’ at the market square. The Police lacks power to keep their acclaimed suspect in the custody beyond the Twenty- Four (24) or Forty- Eight (48) hours.”
“All the actions of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on this subject matter, are totally unacceptable to Nigeria people because the current Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Abba Muhammed, who was former Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for some months, should know better but he is now using his previous connection with Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) to look for way to hand over innocent Mr. Talabi Sunday, to anti- corruption body and this is tantamount to biasness towards Mr. Talabi. The matter with Mr. Adeniyi Sunday Talabi has nothing to do with the First Bank of Nigeria, Plc operational system, but purely private business transaction with the Police acclaimed Thirty-Five (35) Complainants”, the statement submitted.
Sulaiman, therefore, disclosed that the human rights body (CHRSJ),has concluded arrangement to write the appropriate quarters by detailing the true story of the whole scenario.
Signed:
Comrade *ADENIYI ALIMI SULAIMAN*
(Revolutionary Alfa),
Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice(CHRSJ)
*+2348038591504/+2348022697573
For further enquiry
The acclaimed Police suspect – Mr. Talabi Adeniyi Sunday:- +2348035778301.
Osun State Commissioner of Police,Mr. Umar Abba Muhammed:-+2348033140153.
Osun State Police Public Relation Officer,Mrs Yemisi Opalola :-+2348067788119.
Source: Social Justice Equity
