The crowd stormed the police station, set it on fire, and severely beat the DPO, who later died in the hospital from his injuries.
Baba Ali, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Rano Divisional Headquarters in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State, who was killed by an angry mob over the alleged torture and death of a suspect, had previously been found guilty of killing two individuals.
SaharaReporters reported on Monday that the DPO was attacked after enraged residents accused him of arresting and torturing a suspect to death.
The crowd stormed the police station, set it on fire, and severely beat the DPO, who later died in the hospital from his injuries.
Several vehicles were also torched or vandalised during the violent clash between the youths and the police.
Further investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that this was not the first time Baba Ali had been implicated in such acts. In 2020, he was found responsible for torturing two individuals to death, with a third narrowly surviving the ordeal.
In March 2021, the Federal High Court sitting in Bauchi awarded ₦210 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force as compensation for the torture that resulted in the deaths of two individuals and left a third with life-threatening injuries, all over allegations of stealing chickens.
The victims—Abdulwahab Bello, Ibrahim Babangida, and Ibrahim Samaila—were severely beaten by then-Superintendent of Police Baba Ali, who was serving as the Divisional Police Officer of the Bauchi Township Division at the time. The incident occurred on July 21, 2020, following accusations that they had stolen chickens belonging to a retired police officer.
Samaila and Babangida died as a result of the torture, while Bello survived but sustained critical injuries.
The Court of Appeal later dismissed Baba Ali’s appeal in March 2023, upholding the judgment of the lower court.
According to the court’s findings, on July 17, 2020, the three victims were taken from detention to an open area behind the cell. Acting on Baba Ali’s instructions, they were tied to a tree and brutally beaten with a pestle on their legs, ankles, thighs, arms, and chests.
It said, “As a result of this torture, Ibrahim Babangida and Ibrahim Samaila died, while the 1st Respondent survived. The deceased’s bodies were then taken to their families. The 1st Respondent (Bello) filed an action seeking declarations that these acts violated fundamental rights and claimed damages. The Federal High Court granted the reliefs, including an award of N100 million in exemplary damages. Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal.”
Following the deaths of Babangida and Samaila and the life-threatening injuries he sustained, Abdulwahab Bello filed three separate lawsuits, demanding ₦150 million each in damages and compensation for himself and his two deceased friends.
The suits, filed on October 22, 2020, at the Federal High Court in Bauchi, named the following as defendants: Superintendent of Police Baba Ali (1st defendant), Sergeant Jibril Mohammed (2nd defendant), the Inspector General of Police (3rd defendant), the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State (4th defendant), and the Police Service Commission (5th defendant).
In delivering three separate judgments, the presiding judge, Justice Hassan Dikko, ruled against all the defendants, stating that the actions of the police constituted a gross violation of the victims’ fundamental human rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Justice Hassan Dikko described the actions of the respondents toward the three accused as “callous, cruel, and uncivilized.”
He consequently awarded ₦100 million each to the biological mothers of the two deceased victims as compensation and general damages. Additionally, he granted ₦10 million to the mother of the surviving victim. The court also imposed a 10 percent annual interest on the awarded sums until full payment is made.
In his judgement, Dikko said, “The killing of Ibrahim Babangida on 23rd day July, 2020 whose death was as a result of his beaten up by the 1st respondent (Baba Ali) on the 17th day of July 2020, acting under the supervision of the 3rd (IGP) and 4th (Police commissioner) respondents for no justifiable reason, constitute extra-judicial killing and is violent deprivation of his fundamental right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and in article 3 and 5 of the African Charter on human rights and dignity, is illegal.”
The judge awarded N100 million each to Hafsatu Babangida and Hajara Samaila, being the biological mothers of Babangida and Samaila.
“He (Baba Ali) was accused of arresting someone and torturing him, which led to his death,” a source told SaharaReporters on Monday, following the fatal attack on the officer by enraged youths in Rano.
“The people of the community retaliated by invading the police station, set it ablaze, and beat up the DPO. The DPO died after he was taken to the hospital.”
State police spokesperson, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, later confirmed that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, had conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the damage at the Rano Divisional Police Headquarters.
Kiyawa also confirmed the death of DPO Baba Ali, stating that the suspect at the center of the controversy, Abdullahi Musa, showed signs of weakness while in custody and was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
He added that 27 suspects had been arrested in connection with the killing of the DPO.
SAHARA REPORTERS
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