Former Zamfara Governor Appears Before NHRC Panel, Agrees To Settlement
The former governor of Zamfara, Sen. Ahmad Sani, on Wednesday, honoured the summon by the independent National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) panel.
The panel is investigating alleged human rights violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units.
Sani was on Dec. 2, 2020 summoned by the panel to appear before it following an application made to such effect by the counsel for the panel, Olawale Afolabi.
Afolabi made the application during hearing of a petition filed by Alhaji Ahmed Wapa against two police officers, identified as Abdullahi and Zakariyya of the Area Command, Kano.
Others are the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP–IRT), Kaduna State; Commissioner of Police, Kano State.
Sani, who appeared, was represented by his counsel, Efut Okoi.
On the prompting of the panel for an amicable resolution of the matter between the complainant and Sani, the former governor, through Okoi, said that he was favourably disposed to it.
Wapa also agreed to the meditation of the matter under supervising.
Based on this, a member of the panel, Garba Tentegi SAN, who presided over proceedings in the absence of the chairman, rtd. Justice Suleiman Galadima, directed Wapa and Sani to go for mediation.
The judge ordered the counsel for the panel to be involved in the mediation process.
He then adjourned the petition until March 15.
The complainant, Wapa had on Dec. 2, 2020, told the panel that on June 30, 2020, he was arrested in Hadejia, Jigawa, by a team of policemen who thoroughly beat him and took him to Kano.
According to him, after spending four days in Kano, the case was transferred to Kaduna on the instruction of the former governor.
He stated that he had been a business partner of the former governor.
He alleged that the police told him Sani lodged a complaint that he owed him N23 million.
He then urged the panel to unfreeze his account with First Bank, Bakura branch.
He also prayed the panel to to guarantee his safety as well as order the release of his truck.
The petitioner further sought the sum of N100million as damages from the police and Sen. Sani for tarnishing his image as a terrorist and closing his business.
He added that he could not do his business any longer as people now see him as a terrorist.
