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Civil society
organisations under the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN),
promoting police accountability and respect for human rights, have
accused the police and the Borno State government of insincerity in the
aftermath of the Boko Haram crisis.

In a petition sent
late last week to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji
Bankole, NOPRIN’s programme coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said nine
months on, the Borno State governor, Ali Sheriff, refuses to release
the Panel of Inquiry report on the crisis which led to the loss of
hundreds of lives and the destruction of property worth millions of
naira.

“The governor of
Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, set up an Administrative Panel
of Inquiry one week after the crisis had been quelled. Although the
panel submitted its report to the governor one month after, the
governor is yet to make public the report, or issue a white paper,” Mr.
Nwanguma said.

Findings from an
independent investigation by NOPRIN also implicated the Borno State
government and the Borno State Police Command for failing to forestall
the crisis which rocked the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, between
July 26-29, 2009, despite several early warnings.

A Koranic teacher,
Babakura Fugu, whose father, Baba Fugu, was allegedly murdered by the
police for being the father-in-law to Boko Haram’s sect leader,
Mohammed Yusuf, had before the crisis alerted the Borno State governor
of Mr. Yusuf’s activities.

“I made a complaint
by a letter dated 15th July 2009, to the governor and the Attorney
General of Borno State, informing them of the activities of the sect,
which was duly acknowledged… But in spite of the receipt of the
letters, they refused or declined to act upon it,” Mr. Fugu said.

Mr. Nwanguma said
amongst the hundreds of victims yet to be compensated is the family of
late 72-year-old Fugu, who voluntarily submitted himself to the police.
His death is believed to be connected to his refusal to concede his
plots of land located behind Government College, Maiduguri, to the
state government.

“The Borno State
High Court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Mustapha asked the Borno
State government and the police to pay US$70,000 in compensation for
the extra-judicial killing of Baba Fugu. The federal government should
ensure they comply with the court ruling,” Mr. Nwanguma added.

Following released
video clips on international media showing Nigerian security officials
executing civilians after the crisis, NOPRIN decried the police’s
failure to unravel the identities of those involved; while still
awaiting the House of Representatives proposed public hearing into the
incident.

But in a reaction
from the Police Force spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the faces of those
police officers shown in the clips could have been superimposed, thus
not providing enough evidence to make a case.

“It is possible
their faces can be superimposed so we are still looking into the issue.
It doesn’t take one month to investigate. It takes time. Investigations
are still ongoing,” Mr. Ojukwu said.

Amongst NOPRIN’s recommendations are that the Borno State government
immediately adequately compensate all victims of the crisis; while the
federal government identifies the ‘powers from above’ responsible for
making sure Mohammed Yusuf was killed and never prosecuted.