President Muhammadu Buhari has been petitioned over the unprovoked brutal assault and attack on the Publisher of Aljazirah Nigeria Newspapers, Mr. Etuk Williams Bassey, by security aides of Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

Also petitioned on the attack include the National Security Adviser, Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) and the National Human Rights Commission.

Mr. Bassey in the petition, which was dated October 21, and signed by his lawyer, a Principal at Beacon Chambers, Barr David C. Maduka, demanded amongst others the publication of an unreserved apology in two National Dailies within 14 days.

He also wants a thorough investigation into the complaint to unravel the officers who perpetrated the “dastardly acts” as well as discipline, prosecute them and ensure the law takes its full cause.

He added that he will file an appropriate suit against the appropriate authority of the Nigerian Police Force if after 14 days his demands are not met to seek legal redress.

The Aljazirah Nigeria publisher further appealed to President Buhari and other government officials copied in the petition to look into his complaint with the view to “take decisive action”.

Read the full petition below:

21st October 2019

His Excellency,
President Muhammadu Buhari,
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces,
The Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Presidential Villa,
Abuja

FORMAL COMPLAINT OF THE CRIMINAL ACTS OF ASSAULT, MOLESTATION, DEHUMANISATION, AND THREAT TO LIFE PERPETRATED AGAINST OUR CLIENT MR ETIK BASSEY WILLIAMS (A JOURNALIST/PUBLISHER OF ALJAZIRAH NIGERIA NEWSPAPERS) ON FRIDAY 18TH OF OCTOBER, 2019 BY THE POLICE SECURITY AIDES ATTACHED TO GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO

The above subject matter refers.

We are a firm of Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, carrying out our legal practice under the Firm name of Beacon Chambers and our office address is as stated in the above Letterhead.

Our legal services have been retained by Mr. Etuk Bassey Williams, hereinafter referred to as our Client on whose behalf and instruction we write your good office. It is our Client’s brief that he resides at number 12, Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, F.C.T., Abuja. On Friday 18th October 2019, at about 7:55 p.m., he was driving back to his aforesaid residence on the said Benghazi Street when he realized that the entrance to his apartment had become impassable and the whole street clustered with vehicles that were packed by the Police Security Aides attached to Governor Yahaya Bello. It is pertinent to state here that Governor Yahaya Bello’s private residence is directly opposite our Client’s aforestated residence.

Our Client on seeing that the street was huddled with vehicles packed by the said Police Security Aides, to the extent that he was denied access to his abode, he quietly alighted from his vehicle and approached the Police Security Aides he saw at the gate of Governor Yahaya Bello’s apartment. On getting to them, our Client politely requested and pleaded with them to remove at least one of the vehicles that blocked the entrance to his house so that he can gain access to his residence. Immediately, our Client opened his mouth to request for the evacuation of any one of the aforesaid vehicles, all the Police Security Aides (attached to Governor Yahaya Bello) pounced on our Client and collectively dealt terrible blows and beatings on him to the extent that he sustained severe bruises on several parts of his body and his clothing was also badly torn.

When the said assault on our Client was ongoing, our Client had to exclaim these words: “I am a Journalist, what wrong have I done to deserve all this dehumanization”, yet the said Police Officers were not deterred rather they became more aggravated and shouted, “We must kill you today”. Our Client was fortunate to escape by the whiskers when he luckily ran out from their barbaric grip and escaped into his premises through the pedestrian door, yet the said Policemen chased after him. What saved our Client was that he quickly locked the gate of his compound, despite this, the Policemen in question kept banging on his gate and demanded that he should come out at once and further threatened to kill him whenever they set their eyes on him. In the course of all this brouhaha, one of our Client’s friend (Mr. Paul Ella Abechi, the immediate past NUJ Chairman Abuja Chapter and former Special Adviser to the Hon Minister of Finance on Media & Communications) arrived on the scene and he was almost lynched by the same Policemen because they thought he had come to defend our Client, but he was fortunate to wriggle himself out by pacifying them. However, the Policemen still demanded that our Client’s friend should “go into that compound and bring out that journalist” (those were their exact words).

The same Policemen further threatened to the hearing of our Client that they must kill him if they ever lay their hands on him. Subsequently, after about (40) minutes when tempers had calmed, our Client sneaked out of his residence and went straight to the Wuse Zine 4 Police Station to lodge the captioned complaint of criminal assault, dehumanization, molestation and threat to life. Our Client was later advised by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Police Station that since his assailants are Policemen and the security aides to a serving Governor, he should go and lodge a complaint at the Provost Marshal’s office at the F.C.T. Police Command, Garki, Abuja. It is quite paramount to note that since the aforesaid incidence of the 18th October 2019, our Client has been hiding, has been a fugitive (on the run) and has out of austere fear of imminent harm to his person refused to return back to his house up till today. We were further informed by our Client’s private Security (one Master Isaac) that the same Policemen kept mounting surveillance and watch out for our Client with a view to further hurt him.

In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand on our Client’s behalf for the immediate publication of an unreserved apology in two (2) National Dailies by the Nigerian Police Force for all the criminal, inhuman and unjustifiable brutality that was meted on our Client by some Officers and men of the Nigerian Police Force on or before the end of fourteen (14) days from the date of the receipt of this letter. Copies of the aforesaid Newspaper publications, when published, should be forwarded to our captioned office address. We further demand a thorough investigation in this present complaint, unravel the officers who perpetrated these dastardly acts, discipline them, prosecute them and ensure the law takes its full cause. We also demand to be carried along with the process of any investigation, discipline, and prosecution of the aforesaid culprits. Where any of our afore stated demands is not met, we will immediately after the aforementioned fourteen (14) days file an appropriate suit against the relevant authorities of the Nigerian Police Force so as to seek necessary legal redress on behalf of our Client for the criminal and dastardly acts perpetrated against him by the Police Officers attached as Security Aides to Governor Yahaya Bello.

Sir, we most vehemently urge you to use your good office to passionately look into our complaint in this letter and take decisive action in respect of the same. We earnestly anticipate your prompt compliance with our above-stated demands. Do have our utmost regards. Thank you, Sir.

Yours faithfully,

For: Beacon Chambers,

BARR. DAVID C. MADUKA,

Principal, Beacon Chambers

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