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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 
 

By  
 

Gbenemene Kpae 
 
 

Abstract 

It is an open secret that Nigeria has witnessed a lot of extrajudicial killings in recent times, especially by 

members of the law enforcement agencies. The rate of extra-judicial killings by the police in recent times has 

reached an alarming proportion. Each time it happens, the police authorities would protect the offending members 

of the force. And where the police find circumstances convenient to make a scapegoat of the victim, their claim 

would be that the victim was a suspected armed robber. The case of the Apo traders who were killed by policemen 

from the Garki division of the Nigeria police in 2005 remains a clear example of police brutality.On many 

occasions, this violence appears to have been unleashed with government complacency, and even outright 

complicity. "The federal police and the armed forces are responsible for numerous human rights violations on a 

regular basis in their policing activities, ranging from extrajudicial executions to death in custody, torture and 

cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of suspects. This situation was also corroborated by Amnesty International 

who noted that in many instances the Nigeria security agencies torture detainees in their cells to death. However, the 

police usually attribute such deaths in custody to alleged attempts to escape. Victims are labelled as armed 

robbers to deny them any form of popular sympathy and to justify inaction by superiors within the police who 

only rarely attempt to investigate these cases.Extra-judicial executions outside detention centres in Nigeria are 

often linked to operations by special task forces assigned to patrol streets andhighways to check armed 

robbery, violence or illegal activities by some members of the police force, including illegal checkpoints set up to 

extort bribes from citizens.Amid general concern over crime, serious flaws in the legal system have permitted the 

police to routinely label citizens as "suspects of armed robbery or murder" without any evidence to secure their 

remand in prison awaiting trial for years. 

 

Keywords: Security agencies, policing, extra-judicial killing, torture, Nigeria 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

 

Introduction 

An extrajudicial killing means taking a life without due process of law. A person is judged guilty and sentenced to 

death by those without authority to do so and without having a chance to defend himself. That is the essence of 

an extrajudicial killing. It is not about how much violence attended the killing. It is not limited to those 

committed by the police or the military. Every killing where there is a denial of due process is an extrajudicial 

killing.The proper name for extrajudicial killing is murder. It is a killing attended by premeditation, treachery 

and, in most cases, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, or employing means to 

weaken the defence, or of means or people to insure or afford impunity. So goes the definition of murder in our 

Criminal and Penal Code. 

The term extrajudicial killing can be defined as any kind of intended killing or murdering by an attack 

exercising out of the judicial authority for political reasons. Obviously, this killing is considered as an illegal 

act because it happens out of judicial authority influence, actually all legislations prohibit extra-judicial killing of 

human being, even international law prohibits extrajudicial executions considering it as grave breaches of 

international humanitarian law & international human rights. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention 

extrajudicial killings constitute "grave breaches" and are subject to international jurisdiction.So, when we 

hear someone, or a group, or an entire organization or coalition of organizations condemning extrajudicial 

killings, what is it exactly that they condemn? Is it the killing, per se? Then, why not just condemn murder in 

general? Or is it only the killing of people known to be active in fighting for human rights? If it were the second 

instance, is there a reason extrajudicial killing should be considered more reprehensible than generic murder? 

The answer to the last question is most probably NO. The insistence on a different term to denote political killings 

is not because most find them more reprehensible. It is because giving them a political dimension makes it easier 

to put the blame on the entire administration without the need to go through legal processes. While the 

commission of murder must be imputed to a specific person or people and their participation established and 

proven, the entire administration is sought to be held liable for extrajudicial killings committed during its 

term unless it can show that it did everything humanly possible to end them. In other words, the term 

"extrajudicial killing" is resorted to when no specific murderers can be named. 

Legally speaking, a killing is said to be extra-judicial if it is not authorized by the law courts. In Nigeria, the 

sanctity of human life is protected constitutionally as Fundamental Right. It is equally protected by 

international treaties and organizations which Nigeria is a signatory to. For instance, The African Charter on 

Human and People's Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act provides that: 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

 

 

Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the 

recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, 

slavetrade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited 

 

Section 33, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 provides, inter alia that: 

Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to 

respect for his life and integrity. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of his 

life.3 

 

The implication of the above provision is that nobody should be deprived of his life, saves and in the 

manner provided by law, for it is only then that the deprivation will not be termed "arbitrarily". In Nigeria, the 

constitutional provision is even more forceful, it provides: 

Every person has the right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of 

his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal 

offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria. 

Thus, the constitution only recognizes deprivation of life if, and only if, the deprivation is pursuant to the 

execution of a court order in a criminal offence for which the accused has been found guilty in Nigeria. It follows 

that any deprivation short of the recognized exception in Section 33(2)(a),(b) & (c)of the Constitution would 

amount to extrajudicial killing and consequently, unconstitutional. 

Extrajudicial killing tantamount to self-help which is an antithesis of the rule of law and Chich has repeatedly been 

depreciated by the Supreme Court.In spite of all the efforts made by the Government of Nigeria to combat 

corruption and consolidate the restoration of democracy, there remain serious problems in relation to 

extrajudicial executions. These were recently acknowledged by the President, and this research study 

identifies measures required to improve the situation. The problem is illustrated by the "Apo Six" case: the 

framing and killing of six innocent civilians by the Police in Apo in June 2005. 

 

The Nigerian police force is at the same time seriously under-resourced and confronted with a high rate of 

violent crime. As a result, abuses including corruption, arbitrariness, torture, excessive use of force and 

executions are common. There are no systematic statistics recording such executions. 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

Police put forth various pretexts to justify extrajudicial executions. When a victim is killed in custody, an 

attempted escape may be cited. When the victim is killed before being taken into custody, his status as an armed 

robber may be cited. Resort to these pretexts is facilitated by the domestic legal framework. First, the elevation 

of armed robbery to the level of a capital offence has perverse consequences. While armed robbery does 

plague much of Nigeria, the label of "armed robber" is very often used to justify the jailing and/or 

extrajudicial execution of innocent individuals who have come to the attention of the police for reasons ranging 

from a refusal to pay a bribe to insulting or inconveniencing the police. 

Second, the standing "rules for guidance in use of firearms by the police" are deeply flawed. Police Order No.237 

authorizes the use of firearms if a police officer cannot "by any other means" arrest or re-arrest any person who is 

suspected (or has already been convicted) of an offence punishable by death or at least seven years imprisonment. 

The rules which elaborate upon this provision are even more permissive. According to these rules, any person who 

seeks to escape from lawful custody commits a felony warranting a seven-year sentence. As a result, it would be 

justified to shoot to kill someone charged with stealing goods of negligible value but alleged to be seeking to 

escape from custody. These rules practically provide the police carte blanche to shoot and kill at 

will.Extrajudicial executions are also facilitated by the impunity the police force enjoys.No doubt that 

international law is against extrajudicial killings; International law prohibits without exception, the extra-judicial 

killing and considers it as a grave violation of international humanitarian law, and human rights protocols. 

Human rights instruments stipulate that when a government suspects an individual of criminal or 

subversive activity, that government is obligated to capture and try the person. The government must present 

its evidence against the individual under a transparent judicial process of inquiry, not to assassinate him. 

The right to life finds its most general recognition in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights: 

"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.7" 

Also, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights provides: 

"1.   Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be 

protected by law. No one shall 

be arbitrarily deprived of his life. 

In accordance with Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 2 and 26 of 

the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights,and pursuant to several other United Nations 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

declarations and conventions, everyone is entitled to the protection of the right to life without distinction or 

discrimination of any kind, and all persons shall be guaranteed equal and effective access to remedies for the 

violation of this right. Moreover, article 4,paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 

provides that exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may 

not be invoked to justify any derogation from the right to life and security of the person. Various other treaties, 

resolutions, conventions and declarations adopted by competent United Nations bodies contain provisions 

relating to specific types of violations of the right to life. One of the most pertinent of these instruments is the 

Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions9, 

Article 1 of these principles’ states: "Exceptional circumstances including a state of war or threat of war, 

internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked as a justification of such 

executions. Such executions shall not be carried out under any circumstances including, but not limited to, 

situations of internal armed conflict, excessive or illegal use of force by a public official or other person acting 

in an official capacity or by a person acting at the instigation, or with the consent or acquiescence of such person, 

and situations in which deaths occur in custody. This prohibition shall prevail over decrees issued by 

governmental authority."Under the Fourth Geneva Convention (ratified by Nigeria in 1954), extrajudicial 

killings constitute "grave breaches" and are subject to international jurisdiction. Moreover, creating what 

Amnesty International called "a culture of impunity." 

Under international law, exceptional circumstances "including a state of war or threat of war, internal instability, 

or any other public emergency" may not be invoked to justify executions by a state. International law does not 

allow for willfulkillings under any circumstances. 

 

Extrajudicial killing is unlawful under international law because it violates international treaty obligations, as 

well as customary international law. Extrajudicial killing is unlawful under international law because it 

violates the respect to the right to life, which is a peremptory norm of customary international law. The only 

exception to right to life is the right to use lethal force in an act of self-defence against an imminent threat. 

As a party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR"), the Nigeria is required by 

international law to protect the inherent right to life afforded to all human beings1'. According to the ICCPR, the 

right to life cannot be derogated from even "n time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation."12 

The ICCPR also guarantees "all persons" the right to a fair trial, a right that is necessarily denied to all subjects of 

extrajudicial killing. 

In addition to the duty under treaty law, the duty to respect the right to life is a peremptory norm of customary 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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international law. Therefore, customary international law prohibits extrajudicial killing. The ICCPR, the 

American Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights 

("ECPHR"), and the African Charter of Human and People's Rights prohibit the deprivation of the right to life15. 

Few circumstances allow derogation from this rule. The International Court of Justice has held that even in a 

time of war, the right to not be arbitrarily deprived of one's life does not cease16. 

Finally extrajudicial killings violate the fundamental principles of democracy, and the conviction that a 

person is innocent until proven guilty under the law. 

 

The Abuja Police reported that on 8 June 2005 in the Apo district of Abuja five young male traders and a female 

student were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, taken to the Garki police station, and subsequently killed 

while trying to escape. The dead robbers were photographed with their weapons, a post-mortem was conducted 

as required, death certificates were issued after examination by a doctor, and the bodies were buried. When 

challenges to this story first emerged the Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Emmanuel Adebayo, 

publicly affirmed these details. The case looked very typical of many reported by the police in Nigeria. 

Unfortunately for the police, however, one of the "robbers" had managed to phone a relative from the police 

station and reported that the six had been involved in an altercation in a pub with a police officer. Their car had 

subsequently been ambushed by other police who were called in, they had all been badly beaten, and they were 

taken to the police station. Family members immediately sought their release but were unable to pay the bribe of 

$45, 000.00 demanded by the police. Several of them were executed a few hours later. Another managed to 

escape but was recaptured and brutally killed by the police. In fact, no post-mortems were carried out, death 

certificates were not completed by a medical officer, and the bodies were hastily buried in a common grave. 

The news of the killings spread rapidly. Rioters ransacked the Apo police on and demanded an investigation. 

The relatively new Acting Inspector-General of Police convened an internal investigation. But he also took 

the unprecedented and commendable step of making its proceedings public. Two further elements 

compounded the horror story that was to emerge. One police officer who took part in the killings allegedly 

provided the victims' relatives with information on what really happened. He died of '-'tonsillitis" the day before he 

was supposed to give evidence to the inquiry. He was subsequently deemed to have been poisoned by two of 

his colleagues. Meanwhile, the Divisional Police Office in charge of the Garki police station on the fateful night 

"escaped" from detention2. 

In the course of the inquiry one police officer and the photographer on duty that night confirmed that the youths 

had been killed in cold blood. It was subsequently revealed that the "robbers" alleged weapons had been in 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

police storage until they were removed by a police officer shortly before the incident. As a result of the inquiry 

ten police officers were arrested. 

On 27 June 2005, the President unprecedentedly appointed a Federal judicial commission of enquiry to look into 

the "Apo Six" case, i.e. the killings of the six Nigerians. The terms of reference given to the Commission by 

the Federal Government include: 

a. to determine the remote and immediate causes of the eruption of the 

violent clash between the Police and some traders in Apo Village; 

b. to establish whether or not there was any armed robbery incident at 

Gana Street, Maitama Abuja on 7th June 2005; 

c. to determine the identity of the six persons killed at Gimibiya Street, 

Abuja on 7th June 2005 and the circumstances surrounding their death; 

From the statements given by DCP Danjuma Ibrahim, the main protagonist in the case, both during the 

investigation by the Police Board of Inquiry and the memoranda which he sent to the Judicial Commission of 

Inquiry, he averred that at said day of 7th June 2005, while on visiting rounds, he received a distress call from DG, 

NEMA that armed robbers had operated in house located at Plot 417 Lake Chad Str., Maitama, using a Peugeot 

406 Car. He later visited the scene. He further claimed to have received another distress call that armed robbers were 

operating at Crown Guest Inn at Area 11 Garki, Abuja. He added that at 12.30am, in continuation of his 

visiting rounds, he sighted a Peugeot 406 struggling with a Red Starlet Car with two men inside at Gimbiya Street. 

He claimed that while he was there, he suddenly saw the suspected Peugeot Car approaching them at the 

Pin-down-point, where he met with one Inspector and Three Constables. He further claimed that when the Peugeot 

406 car attempted to escape, he used his BMW Car to block the road. He asserted that the occupants of the car 

fired at the Police, to which the Policemen responded. He stated that he came out of his car and brought out his 

pistol and fire two shots. Thereafter, the officer-in-charge of the Police ALGON Jeep, on his instruction, took the 

four presumably dead persons and two injured men, all occupants of the Peugeot 406, to Garki Police Station. 

He also stated that the Peugeot 406 was searched and the following items were recovered from it: 

a. 2 locally made pistols; 

b. 2 live catridges; 

c. 2 expended cartridges; 

d. 2 daggers; and 

e. 1 cutlass. 

 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

The DCP added that he could not state exactly who amongst the Policemen at the scene fired.However, Inspector 

Suleiman Audu, PC Yakubu Philibus, PC Haruna Mamot and PC Ibrahim Garba of the memo submitted to 

the Panel by the then Acting Inspector General of Police coupled with their evidence given to the Panel are to the 

effect that there was no shooting from the Peugeot 406 Car that DCP Danjuma Ibrahim collected the rifle of 

Inspector Sulieman Audu and shot at the Car. The scenario was re-enacted when the panel visited the scene. 

Inspector Sulieman Audu graphically told the panel how the incident took place. 

Thus, after analyzing the testimony of Inspector Sulieman Audu, both at the Panel and at the scene, and the 

testimonies of PC Yakubu Philibus, PC Haruna Mamot and PC Ibrahim Garba, three things stood out 

distinctively to wit: 

a. That no shoot-out between the Police and the deceased persons at 
Gmbiya Street, Area 11 Garki Abuja on that day; 

b. That no shooting came from the Peugeot 406 Car; 

c. That DCP Ibrahim Danjuma collected the AK 47 rifle of Inspector 
Suleiman Audu and shot the entire 10 bullets into the Peugeot 406 
Car; 

The evidence of Inspector Suleiman Audu, PC Yakubu Philibus, PC Haruna Mamot and PC Ibrahim Garba were 

to the effect that nothing was recovered from the said Peugeot 406 Car. The statement and evidence of 

Inspector Ishaya Nyaiwak(statement pages 21 -22 of the memo submitted by the Acting Inspector General of 

Police) that the said locally made pistols were recovered from RITA LORI HOTEL a week before the incident. 

Also, the evidence of PC Dennis Asa>vato the effect that DPO CSP Othman Abdusalamspecifically directed 

him on where to search in the said Peugeot 406 Car. The evidence of DCP DanjumaIbrahim that the 

Peugeot 406 Car was not searched at Gimbiya Street even though different from his statement contained at pages 

5-7 of the Acting Inspector General of Police also gave credence to the fact that the two locally made pistols 

were planted in the said Peugeot 406 Car by the Police. 

 

The Ballistician report before the Panel stated in part that the locally made pistols allegedly found on the deceased 

persons had not been fired in recent time and the expended cartridges were not fired from any of the locally made 

pistols.It can thus be seen that from the facts that no locally made pistols or any firearms had been found with 

deceased persons. The deceased persons did not pose any threat to the lives of the Policemen around including 

DCP Ibrahim Danjuma or were they (Police Officers) put under a serious apprehension of their safety3 to warrant 

the killings of the deceased persons. 

 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

As to how many were persons died at the first point of contact, i.e. Gimbiya Street, Area 11 Garki Abuja, there 

was a lot of conflicting and contradicting evidence. The evidence of DCP Danjuma Ibrahim was 

corroborated by the evidence of Yakubu Alama, a security guard at Syndicate Plaza, Area 11 Garki Abuja, who 

was on duty on the night of the incident to the effect that only one person died at Gimbiya Street and that the 

remaining five were taken to Garki Police Station and he, DCP Danjuma Ibrahim, handed them over to the DPO 

Garki Police Station, CSP Othman Abdulsalam. The statement of PC Ezekiel Achenejeas contained at 

pages 8 -- 9 of the memo submitted by the Acting Inspector General of Police gave a graphic account of those 

they shot which sum up to five people. In the memo, his statement provided thus: 

"...That on the way along Kabusa road, one of the suspects jumped down from the 
vehicle and was chased 

3By Force OrderNo. 237 it provides, "A police officer may use firearms under the following circumstances: ... 

(a) When attacked and his life is in danger and there is no other way of saving his life.." 

From the statement and evidence before the Commission, it was evidently clear that some people were killed at 

Gimbiya Street, Area 11 Garki Abuja and some people killed thereafter near Prince and Princess Estate, Gadua 

Abuja. The common denominator flowing from both statements and testimonies of witnessed is that all the 

deceased were killed by the Police in a continuous single exercise of elimination to conceal facts. 

Also, it was found as fact that though there was robbery at the house of the DG, NEMA, the car used for the 

robbery was a Red Honda Haller and not a Peugeot 406. Furthermore, by the evidence of Ben Agari, owner of 

Crown Guest Inn, he stated that those involved in the robbery at his hotel never came with any car and they 

escaped through a pathway to the road where they boarded a Red Toyota Car. Thus, the issue of Peugeot 406 for 

in the said robberies on that fateful day was introduced by DCP Danjuma Ibrahim. 

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry was headed by Justice O. O. Goodluck, a serving High Court Judge of FCT, 

Abuja with Chief Osita Okeke, DIG Parry Osayande (Rtd), Brigadier General Okunbor and Hauwaas 

members, Barrister Iduwas made the Secretary of the Panel and Barrister Oluwole Aina 

as Counsel to the Panel. 

 

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry was sworn in on 27th of June 2005 (nineteen days after the killings/incident) 

and commenced sitting on 29th of June 2005. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry concluded her sitting on the 

5th of August 2005 with the admission in evidence of the autopsy reports on the Six deceased persons carried 

out by two renowned anatomic Pathologists namely 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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Right To Life And The Nigerian Police 

The Nigeria Police have grown significantly under civilian rule to 225,000 in 2007. But the numbers are still 

inadequate, their level of training and funding insufficient, and their morale low. Although Nigeria suffers 

from high violent crime rates, the force is chronically under-resourced. All too often new recruits pay for their 

own uniforms, salaries are delayed for many months, equipment required in an emergency needs to be borrowed 

from other agencies,30 and complainants (even those alleging murder) are asked to cover the costs of the police 

investigation including travel and accommodation. Where they cannot afford to do so, the investigation fizzles. 

In addition, corruption is widespread among police officers, in part due to very low salaries. 

For these reasons, and because police tactics are often marked by the arbitrary and unnecessary use of force, 

including high rates of extrajudicial killings, there is little public confidence in the police. Indeed, they are 

criticized by virtually all sectors of civil society. The lead editorial in a security-focused magazine observed 

that the "[operatives of Nigeria Police are dreaded agents of death who decimate human lives at will." The 

editorial continued: 

"Looking scruffy and ferocious in different shades of gear, operatives of 
Nigeria Police would storm the roads armed with guns, horsewhips and 
batons ... . It is business time. And the road and its users no longer know 
peace. From [the police] standpoint, everybody is a criminal and every crime 

has a price. " 

 

 

Common complaints include the carrying of firearms in public by un-uniformed police, the wearing of uniforms 

by police when they are off-duty .33 and the widespread practice of police requiring payment to ensure the safe 

deliver.- of goods. As a result, the overriding public attitude towards the police is one of fear and mistrust. 

The focus of this analysis, however, is on extrajudicial killings by the Nigeria Police. These can be 

broadly grouped into three main types: 

(1) extrajudicial executions of suspected criminals; 

(2) the excessive and arbitrary use of force; and 

(3) deaths in custody. 

Despite the fact that the scourge of armed robbery plagues much of Nigeria, the label of "armed robber" is very 

often used to justify the jailing and/or extrajudicial execution of innocent individuals who have come to the 

attention of the police for reasons ranging from a refusal to pay a bribe to insulting or inconveniencing the 

police. The problem lies in part in the elevation of ar~.:e:i robbery to the level of a capital offence. This seems to 

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IJO- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH  
( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

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have at least two pen e~?e consequences: (1) criminals interrupted in an armed robbery have no desireto use 

arms (either way it will be a capital offence); (2) the police are given a justification to shoot to kill any person who 

has committed a capital offence and is seeking to flee.34 

The case of the Apo Six is telling in that the Nigerian Civil LibertyOrganization was able to predict, 

with chilling accuracy, the execution o: alleged armed robbers. Tragically, the practice of summarily 

executing s.criminals by the Nigeria Police is widespread and systematic. This is both illegal and 

counter-productive. There are no circumstances under which summary executions are legally 

permissible let alone justifiable. The practice is counterproductive for several reasons. Summary 

executions of suspects, many of whom are innocent of the crime of which they have been accused, does 

nothing to stem the high rate of armed robbery in Nigeria. For all the killings at the hands of the police, this 

rate has shown no diminution. The practice also confirms the public sense of the police as being out of 

control, brutal, and relatively unconcerned with protecting the public and upholding the law. Fundamentally 

different police tactics are thus required by law and for pragmatic reasons. 

The key challenge is to determine when deadly force can legitimately be used against criminals. Most 

approaches to date seem to be inconsistent with human rights requirements. For example, in "operation 

fire-for-fire", a 2002 campaign against crime, the Inspector-General of Police pre-authorized police officers to 

fire in "very difficult situations". The result, revealed in police statistics, was that in the first 100 days, 225 

suspected criminals were killed, along with 41 innocent by-standers2. Fortunately, this operation was terminated. 

But the standing "rules for guidance in use of firearms by the police" are equally flawed. Police Order No. 237 

provides for the use of firearms in situations where it is essential in order to protect the life of the police officer or 

of another person, or where necessary to prevent "serious offences against life and property" by rioters. These 

provisions are unexceptionable but the rules which effectively relate to "armed robbers" are formulated very 

differently. They authorize the use of firearms if a police officer cannot "by any other means" arrest or re-arrest 

any person who is suspected (or has already been convicted) of an offence punishableAmnesty International, 

Security Forces in Nigeria: Serving to protect and respect human rights? (December 2002) at p. 14.by death or 

at least seven years imprisonment. The rules which elaborate upon this provision are even more permissive. 

They note that any person who seeks to escape from lawful custody commits a felony warranting a seven-year 

sentence. As a result, shooting to kill someone charged with stealing goods of negligible value but alleged to be 

seeking to escape from custody would be justified. The only qualification contained in the rules is "firearms should 

only be used if there are no other means of effecting his arrest, and the circumstances are such that his 

subsequent arrest is unlikely". These rules are deeply flawed. They provide close to a carte blanche to the police 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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to shoot and kill at will. 

Police Order No. 237 should be amended immediately to bring it into conformity with the Basic Principles on 

the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The resulting emphasis should be on 

proportionality, on the use of lethal force as an absolute last resort, and only "when strictly unavoidable in order to 

protect life". Thus, the possible escape of an alleged robber who presents no direct threat to the lives of others, 

cannot justify shooting to kill. 

On paper, the system for investigating police misconduct is impressive. In practice, it is too often a charade. The 

outcome of investigations usually seems to justify inaction or to ensure that complaints are dealt with internally 

through "orderly-room hearings" or the like. While police officers are certainly disciplined and some dismissed, the 

system has rarely worked in cases in which police are accused of extrajudicial executions. In these instances, 

genuine investigations are rare and referrals to the DPP for prosecution are even rarer. It is also not 

uncommon for the primary accused police officer to escape, for charges to be brought against others, and for the 

latter to be acquitted on the grounds either of insufficient evidence or of prosecution of the wrong officers. The 

result gives me appearance of a functioning investigative system, while in fact promoting the goal of de facto 

police impunity. 

In 2005 the acting former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) announced that "the days of extra-judiciary killings" 

and of "corruption in the service" must end4. The question for Nigeria is how to introduce some notion of 

accountability. While no single country can provide a model, efforts to promote democratic policing in South 

Africa are of major relevance5. It is generally accepted that three different levels of control are needed: internal, 

governmental, and societal. 

In terms of internal accountability,the Nigeria Police system is weak. From the few statistics available there are 

the indications that few serious disciplinary measures are taken except against rogue individuals. Indeed, the 

single greatest impediment to bringing police officers to justice for their crimes is the Nigeria Police force itself. 

Evidence indicates that it systematically blocks or hampers investigations and allows suspects to flee. In order to 

break this cycle of impunity, a new investigation and prosecution mechanism is required. 

In terms of governmental accountability, the Police Service Commission is charged with police discipline, but has 

opted to refer all complaints of extrajudicial police killings back to the police for investigation. The Commission's 

mandate is potentially empowering. But despite efforts by one or two excellent commissioners, its 

performance has been dismal and self-restraining. Its Quarterly Reports to the President are not published and 

present a dismal chronicle of rubber-stamping decisions taken by the police, coupled with inaction in relation 

to pressing concerns. A radical overhaul of its procedures and composition is warranted. In terms of societal 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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accountability there are various initiatives to promote community policing and reinvigorate the Police-Community 

Relations Committees that exist in some states6. But these efforts fall far short of the need. Some external authority 

needs to be equipped and empowered to monitor police abuses, including instances of illegal checkpoints, demands 

for bribes and other forms of corruption and abuse 

The prevalence of human rights violations and extrajudicial killings in the Nigerian Police is a function of several 

and complex factors acting together in a potent mix to predispose the average policeman and woman to abuse the 

powers conferred on him by the state and the rights of the citizens. These factors include the following: 

(a)     Conceptual 

It appears that most Nigerian languages do not equip the police with the concept of a "suspect". To be accused 

or arrested is to be presumed guilty. The treatment of suspects testifies to a significant conceptual limitation. The 

public display of armed robbery suspects and their arms/charms is the most dramatic manifestation of this 

limitation. Although the word "suspect" is often used but it seems to connote guilt and condemnation in the 

Nigerian police, hence suspects like those of the "Apo Six" are treated with indignity, crudity and brutality. 

b) Historical 

The Nigerian Police is still afflicted by its heritage as an instrumental of colonial purification. The 

alienation of the colonial Police from the general population remains a feature of police -- civil society 

relations in Nigeria today. 

(c) Culture 

The Nigerian Police operates in a paternalistic environment in which authority is expected to be 

unquestioned. The uniform which a police officer puts on confers on him authority which is often used 

in a culturally-calibrated way. The Nigerian policeman does not expect an ordinary citizen to argue or 

explain his/herself out of a situation. He expects a person to beg and if the person does not, he considers 

such a person recalcitrant and worthy of any manner of abuse. 

(d)     Environmental 

The Nigerian Police operates in an environment which has been brutalized by civil war, military rule, 

political mismanagement and economic adversity. It is a terrain in which the failure of the State and culture 

of comprises has engendered an epidemic of lawlessness and violent crimes. The average Police officer 

is confronted, on a daily basis, with a relentless army of lawbreakers. 

(e) Infrastructural 

The policeman and woman in Nigeria work in grossly insalubrious and environments. Police Stations are 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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ill-equipped, often dingy and generally inadequate for the needs of those who work there. The Nigerian 

Police Station is a frustration-inducing environment or put more positively, is hardly an edifying 

environment. In addition to the uninspiring working environment, the Nigerian Police is handicapped by 

gross supply and logistic inadequacies which undermine work attitudes and the capacity to perform, at the 

level desired by all. 

(f) Institutional 

The Nigerian Police has suffered from years of maladministration and neglect. Its poor administrative 

processes have tended to generate disaffection among the rank and file. For years, the Police have 

suffered from what can be described as the collapse of command. Indiscipline and arbitrariness on the part 

of local commanders plagued the force. This problem has not been totally eliminated. With a poor system 

of sanctions, infractions have generally not been consistently or systematically punished. The police officer, 

in the field, is hardly deterred by a system in which discipline and order are only discriminatory enforced. 

(b)     Coroner's inquiries 

In the Nigerian criminal justice system, coroners are an endangered species and inquiries a rarity. Thus, records 

of coroner's inquiries are unavailable. In practice, unspecialized magistrates act as coroners. 

It is commonplace for pathologists to sign reports without examining the body and when police killings 

are involved, there is often no signature. 

(c)      The Holding Charge 

If the Nigerian criminal justice system worked, suspects would be brought before a court, charged and 

remanded. Instead the police consistently resort to a short cut by taking suspects before a magistrate who 

remands them indefinitely without formal charges while the police conduct theirinvestigation. The 

result of this "holding charge" is that individuals can be jailed more or less indefinitely in a legal limbo based on 

little more than a suspicion of criminal activity, unsupported by any evidence. This practice continues despite a 

declaration of its unconstitutionality by the Court of Appeal8. It has contributed significantly to the extremely 

high rates of individuals in Nigerian prisons who have not been formally charged, a situation which can 

endure for a decade and beyond. It is an insidious but pervasive practice which shields police inefficiency and 

severely punishes many innocent persons. 

(d)The Prosecutorial System 

Public Prosecutors have no control over police investigations, nor can they demand that individuals be 

produced in court. As a result, most police killings are never referred to the DPP and the latter cannot 

initiate a prosecution. Moreover, a police officer must be dismissed from the police force before being 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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prosecuted. 

(e)Legal aid 

There is a "severe lack of competent and adequately compensated counsel for indigent defendants and death row 

inmates seeking appeals."9 Although the Legal Aid Act guarantees free legal assistance in capital cases to those 

who cannot afford a lawyer, in practice the Legal Aid Council, the body responsible for providing such 

assistance, is under-funded and unable tofulfil its duties10. While practitioners are keen to point to the pro bono 

work done by some barristers, this makes little dent in the overall shortfall of legal aid. 

Conclusion and Recommendations 

The "Apo Six" case was a terrible tragedy and also a sad reminder of the incident of extrajudicial killings in 

Nigeria. The case brought out all the pathologies affecting the Nigerian Criminal Justice System as well as the 

endemic disregard of human life by the Nigerian Police. A fundamental right of all citizens of Nigeria is the right 

to life enshrined under the 1999 Constitution and numerous International Human Rights instruments. The right 

of life of every citizen is expected to berespected by the Police and this right can be violated in special 

circumstances provided under the law. However, as could be seen in the Apo Six case, the six innocent suspects’ 

right to life were violated without due process (this is what is known as extrajudicial killing) by the Police and 

the unfortunate part is that perpetrators tried to cover up their heinous act by committing more killings. The 

famous police extra-judicial killing of innocent suspects of crime in our nation’s capital, otherwise known as the 

Apo 6 was also noted in a report Professor Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on 

Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in Nigeria 

 

In sum, this paper examines the incidents of extrajudicial killings in Nigeria, and also the causes of 

extrajudicial have also been discussed that relevant human rights principles and provisions of international 

humanitarian law prohibit without exception, the extra-judicial execution of individuals. It is within this 

context that the killing of the six innocent civilians by the Police in the Apo Six Case is a serious crime under 

international law. It clearly amounts to intentional and willful killing, which constitutes a grave breach of 

humanitarian law, and could be subject to criminal prosecution. 

Recommendations 

This is, therefore, a call on the Federal government to ensure that law enforcement officers do not resort to 

torture or inflict cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment on detainees under any circumstance; that they do not 

carry out extra-judicial executions; or exert excessive use of lethal force. It also recommend the prosecution of 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
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erring police officers and the payment of compensation to families of victims of police brutality, torture and 

extra-judicial killing. Lastly, extrajudicial kill ings violate the fundamental principles of democracy, and 

the conviction that a person is innocent until proven guilty under a policy of extrajudicial killing, a government 

becomes prosecutor, judge, and executioner, it is unconstitutionally. 

 

 

 References 

Alston, P. (2005). Expert on Extrajudicial killing ends visit to Nigeria. A United Nations Human Rights  

 office of the High Commissioner Press Release. 

Amnesty International (2002), Security Forces in Nigeria: Serving to protect 

 and respect human rights? 

Ajomo, M. A. and Okagbue, I. E. (1991)Human Rights and the Ad: 

Criminal Justice in Nigeria. (Ibadan: Spectrum Books. 

Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN) and National Human 

 Rights Commission (1999) Policing a Democracy: A Survey Report on the 

 Role And Functions of the  Nigerian  Police  in   a  Post-Military  Era. 

 (www.kabissa.org/cleen). 

Civil Liberties Organization (2005), I Can Kill You and Nothing will 

 Happen:   A   Report   of Extra-Judicial   Killings   and  Impunity  by  LawEnforcement  

 Agencies in Nigeria between May 1999 - June 2005. 

Crooke Q.C,  G.  W.  (2001).  Professional Policing v.  Corruption.  PaperPresented at the 15th  

 International CoGormley, 'The right to Life and the Rule of Non-deogability: Peremptory 

 Norms of Jus Cogens,' in E.G. Ramcharan (ed), The Right to Life in 

 International Law (1985) inference of the International Societyfor the Reform of Criminal Law,  

 Canberra. 

Government White Paper on the Report of the Judicial Commission of 

 Inquiry on the Apo Six (6) Killings by the Police in Abuja Between 7th - 

 8th June, 2005. 

Human Rights Law Service, (2004) Travesty of Justice: An Advocacy 

 Manual Against the Holding Charge. 

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( ISSN 2811-2466 )                                                      Gbenemene Kpae* 

https://ijojournals.com/                                                      Volume 07 || Issue 04 || April, 2024 || 
Extra Judicial Killings In Nigeria: Analysis of Police Crime Control Mechanism in the APO 6 Case 

 
 

 
 

Masuku, T.(2005)Strengthening Democratic Policeand Coordinating the Internal and External A 

 South African Police Service, (Braamfontem. Centre for the study of Violence and  

 Reconciliation 

World Organization Against Torture and Centre for Law Enforcement 

 Education (2002), Hope Betrayed?  A Report on Impunityand State-Sponsored  

 Violence in Nigeria. 

The Report of the National Study Group on Death Penalty, Abuja, August 

 2004 

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