•EFCC boss tasks lawyers on ethical conduct
The state commandant of Oyo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), has condemned the violation of the rights of suspects.
Olayanju, who spoke against the background of a viral video where some officers of the agency were subjecting a suspect to inhumane treatment, said in a statement that the incident in the viral video did not reflect the true character and operational disposition of the security agency.
He said it was highly regrettable that an unfortunate incident that happened in 2021, due to unprofessional conduct on the part of some overzealous operatives, was being used by mischief-makers to portray the agency in a bad light.
He said: “The suspect in question was allegedly a member of a syndicate which specialises in robbing commercial motorcyclists at gunpoint, then selling such motorbikes across the border in Benin Republic.
“When the agency got wind of the video in March 2021, the case was diligently investigated by the headquarters of Oyo State Amotekun in Ibadan and the two erring operatives who subjected the suspect to inhumane treatment were summarily dismissed from the service of Oyo State Security Network Agency.”
The commandant added that Oyo Amotekun, as a lawful organisation, would not condone or encourage any act that would amount to abuse or violation of the rights of any suspect.
MEANWHILE, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, urged defence counsel on the Commission’s cases to be guided by the ethics of their profession in the discharge of their duties to their clients.
Olukoyede gave the charge through the Ibadan Zonal Director of the EFCC, Hauwa Garba Ringim, when the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ibadan Branch, led by its chairman, Ibrahim Lawal, paid her a courtesy visit.
He said: “It is disheartening how a reasonable number of lawyers come into EFCC premises and begin to display unprofessionalism, trying to interfere in investigation activities and pushing to get things done their way, outside the standard operating procedure of the EFCC.”
The EFCC boss, however, assured lawyers of the Commission’s collaboration.
In his response, Lawal thanked Ringim for the warm reception accorded to the delegation, stressing that for more outstanding successes to be achieved in the fight against corruption, there must be an effective collaboration between the EFCC and the Bar.
The Ibadan NBA chair, who condemned touting by lawyers, disclosed that his branch has set up an “Anti-touting Committee,” saddled with the responsibility of investigating and sanctioning lawyers who deviate from professional ethics.
