Photo: Left -
In a move that is
bound to send shockwaves throughout Nigeria and beyond, the Nigerian
police force has promoted Sam Chukwu, a controversial police officer
named in a high-profile kidnap and murder case, to the rank of Assistant
Commissioner of Police.
Continue reading after the cut....
Two senior police sources in Abuja told SaharaReporters that there was widespread dismay within the police over the decision of the Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba, and the Police Service Commission to turn a blind eye to the criminal indictment of Sam Chukwu. “Why is it that this one man is being protected by the IG and Chief Sir Okiro, even though everybody knows that he committed crimes that cry to heaven?” one of the police sources wondered. The source disclosed that the PSC deliberately failed to list the names of all officers promoted to the rank of AC in order to avoid public scrutiny of the questionable decision to promote Sam Chukwu. “Go and look at their [Police Service Commission] website, they craftily just wrote that 21 superintendents were promoted to assistant commissioner, but did not release the names. It’s because they want to hide the fact that Sam Chukwu’s name is there,” said the source.
Two suspects in the Ezeudu kidnap case, Desmond Chinwuba, who remains in hiding, and Ernest Okeke, who is in custody undergoing trial, were living in Mr. Chukwu’s home at the time they allegedly abducted Mr. Ezeudu and reportedly killed him, after collecting a hefty ransom. Both Mr. Chinwuba and Mr. Okeke had been implicated in an earlier kidnap and murder case and had been fired from the police while they underwent trial. They were mysteriously granted bail and were longtime guests in Mr. Chukwu’s family home when they allegedly ensnared Lota Ezeudu in their kidnap trap, according to prosecutor sources in Enugu.
Mr. Chukwu’s son, Nnaemeka Chukwu, is also in custody as a suspect in the case. Prosecutors believe he had lured Lota Ezeudu, who was his classmate in secondary school, to Mr. Chukwu’s home where he was seized by a ring of kidnappers organized and controlled by Mr. Chukwu.
In February 2012, Justice Afam Nwobodo of the Enugu High Court issued an arrest warrant for Sam Chukwu after the officer refused to voluntarily show up in court for arraignment. “Wanted” posters of Mr. Chukwu are posted in parts of Enugu as well as in the rogue officer’s hometown, an official of the Enugu State Ministry of Justice prosecutor told SaharaReporters.
The official added that the police authorities in Enugu and Abuja knew full well that Mr. Chukwu had ignored court summons. “The police in Enugu claimed that Sam Chukwu was on the run, that they did not know of his whereabouts,” said the official. He continued: “Yet, we continued to get information that he was seen in Abuja at the police headquarters. He was also seen in Enugu. This means the police were protecting a man wanted for serious crimes.”
The immediate former IG of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, ignored all appeals by prosecutors to help find and arrest Mr. Chukwu. Yet, two weeks before the end of his tenure, Mr. Abubakar reinstated Mr. Chukwu to the police and posted him to the southeast zonal command to assume the important post of provost.
Another police source in Umuahia told SaharaReporters that Mr. Chukwu had been buying drinks to celebrate his promotion. He accused unnamed top shots of the police of shielding Mr. Chukwu because the shady officer has strong ties to powerful politicians in Enugu State and the southeast. The source said Mr. Chukwu was well versed in the game of commanding police officers to rig elections for some politicians. He alleged that the rogue officer recently took a contingent of police officers to Awgu in Aninri local government area to do work for some politicians.
Several police sources blamed PSC chair, Mike Okiro, and successive IGs, including the incumbent, Mr. Abba, for enabling “bad eggs” like Mr. Chukwu to rise in the police even though they tarnish the image of good officers.
“You have a situation where the IGs are picked for the wrong reasons. Then the IGs turn around and recommend crooks for promotion by the police service commission. That’s why the reputation of all of us in the police continues to suffer,” one officer complained.
Yesterday, SaharaReporters contacted police spokesman Emeka Ojukwu by phone to seek clarification over the promotion of Mr. Chukwu. Mr. Ojukwu, who is the police public relations officer at police headquarters in Abuja, asked our correspondent to email questions to him. We sent him the questions below, but had received no response at the time of this report.
Questions sent by SaharaReporters to PPRO Emeka Ojukwu
In February 2012, an Enugu High Court presided over by Justice Nwobodo issued an arrest warrant for Sam Chukwu, a senior police officer, in connection with the 2009 abduction of Lotachukwu Ezeudu. Mr. Chukwu, who used to be a DPO, failed to appear in court to respond to prosecutors who feel he was the mastermind of a ring of kidnappers, including one Ernest Okeke (who is in custody) and Desmond Chinwuba, who is on the run. Our sources in the Ministry of Justice said the police command in Enugu told them they were unaware of Mr. Chukwu’s whereabouts. Even so, the immediate former IG, Mr. Abubakar, reinstated the same fugitive and made him the provost at the southeastern zonal command in Umuahia. Why did the police reabsorb Mr. Chukwu even though it was public knowledge that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest?
There are posters of Mr. Chukwu as a wanted man that are publicly posted in Enugu. Why has the current IG failed to address concerns about Mr. Chukwu’s alleged role in a high-profile kidnap case?
A police source has informed SaharaReporters that Sam Chukwu is one of 21 chief superintendents of police whose promotion to AC was recently approved by the Police Service Commission. How do you justify the promotion of a man who is still a fugitive in the eyes of the law?
A source within the police told SaharaReporters that Mr. Chukwu told police authorities that a court had cleared him of any involvement in the kidnap and possible murder of Lotachukwu Ezeudu. Yet, prosecutors in Enugu insist they are unaware of any such order. What kind of investigation did the police carry out before reinstating Mr. Chukwu?
How do police authorities react to a series of reports in print and online media detailing Mr. Chukwu’s alleged participation in criminal activities?
-SaharaReporters
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