Police IG Sets Up Seven-man Committee to Investigate Death Of Police Cadet
Police IG Sets Up Seven-man Committee to Investigate Death Of Police Cadet
By: JP Ashedzi
Olukayode Egbetokun, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, has instituted a seven-man Panel of Inquiry, to be headed Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, Abiodun Alabi.
The committee is charged with a mandate to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a police cadet, Sulaiman Jika at the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State.
Egbetokun also ordered the panel to furnish his office with a comprehensive report detailing its findings and recommendations within four days; while extending his heartfelt condolences and commiserations to Jika’s family, relations, and the academy community, and assuring that he was deeply empathetic to their pains and loss; and that the Force would do the needful to ensure justice is done in the case.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi made the development known midnight Tuesday at exactly 1:03 am, in an official correspondence obtained by our correspondent.
Adejobi said, “In response to the tragic incident at the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, where a promising young cadet, Sulaiman Jika, lost his life, on Friday, September 1, 2023, the Inspector General of Police has set up a seven-man Panel of Inquiry on Monday, September 4, 2023, headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, Abiodun Alabi, with a mandate to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the cadet’s death
“The IGP has set a deadline of four days for the panel to furnish a comprehensive report detailing its findings and recommendations. Other members of the panel include the AIG Training and Development, AIG Oyeyemi Oyediran; Force Medical Officer, CP Garba Emmanuel Nzukwen; CP Homicide FCID, CP Fom Pam Joseph, psc(+); CP Training POLAC, CP Patrick Edung; representative of the CP Legal as the secretary, and the Principal Staff Officer II to the IGP, ACP Idris Abubakar.”
A cadet, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being victimized, said the victim was rushed to the academy’s clinic.
“He was left untreated because there are no drugs and no medical officer to attend to him in the unconducive environment, before he gave up and died,” the source added.
A cadet, who also asked not to be identified, said there was usually high traffic of sickly cadets at the unequipped clinic on a daily basis.
He said, “Since the new commandant assumed office, they’ve been providing very bad and inadequate food for us. The boy that died was not up to 20 years old. The boy wouldn’t have died if they’d attended to him. The commandant also ordered the closure of the market and laundry and approved undeserved training exercises during lecture hours.
