BREAKING: Court Remands Activist, Aghogho In Prison After Arrest By Police For Demanding Probe Into Child Trafficking

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Comrade Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, a magistrate court has ordered the remand of human rights activist and the Delta State Chapter Coordinator of the human rights group, Take It Back, in prison custody.

SaharaReporters learnt on Wednesday that Aghogho was remanded at the Ogwashuku Federal Prison over trumped-up allegations of “defamatory, cybercrime, false information.”

He was remanded by the Magistrate Court 1 in Delta.

SaharaReporters on Tuesday reported that the police were unable to arraign Aghogho as the magistrate was not available to listen to the case.

Men of the Delta State Police Command on Monday had arrested Aghogho.

The activist had been at loggerheads with the police in the state after he protested the lack of police vehicles for an investigation involving child trafficking.

He specifically accused the Assistant Inspector General, Zone 5 Benin, Lawan Tanko Jimeta of compromising an ongoing child trafficking investigation involving Delta State Government officials, police officers, and a retired chief judge among others.

In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Baba Usman, the activist alleged that Jimeta had tried everything possible to frustrate investigations into the case, urging the IGP to caution the AIG “if he the IGP is not part of the deal as officers in the zone boast about".

“All efforts made by Comrade Aghogho on 18/5/2022 to interface with AIG proved abortive as the Personal Assistance (name unknown but can be identified) to AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta denied access to him, calls and SMS sent to the mobile phones of the AIG were not returned and remained unanswered even when the AIG can be sighted seated right inside his office,” his petition had read.

“Why did the AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta repeatedly refuse to provide police operational vehicle for the investigation activities despite the intervention of Force Police Public Relations Officer (FPPRO), Abuja, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi?

“(2) Why did the AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta refuse to arrest the suspects who dishonoured his own invitation for the investigation including the retired chief judge of Delta State, Justice Marshal Umukoro?

“(3) Why did AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta formulate an interim report when most of the accused failed to turn up for the investigation?

“(4) Why did AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta refuse to rescue hundreds of children currently in the den of child traffickers in Delta State against the directive of the Inspector-General of Police?

“(5) What was the action of AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta when the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe via a press statement dated 11/4/2022 admitted on behalf of the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Mohammed Ari, that the Delta State Police Command has been handing overexploited children to the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs but the said DSP Bright Edafe was unable to provide the law authorizing the action of the Delta State Police command?

“(6) What was the action of AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta when the Permanent Secretary of the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Oghenekevwe Agas admitted in her statement before him that the said Ministry has been working in line with the policy of the Delta State Government authorizing them to unlawfully interfere with the judicial process of child adoption in the state vis-à-vis enabling the Ministry to criminally sell adoption application forms at the rate of N20,000.00 and N50,000.00 respectively via the following accounts to wit: ECO BANK 2152023855, ZENITH BANK: 1011047631 and subsequently release the children unlawfully in the custody of the said Ministry, children which were unlawfully transferred to the said Ministry by the Delta State Commissioner of Police, for the purpose of illegal adoption/child trafficking.

“(7) Why is AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta referring the case file back to the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Ari Mohammed Ali, who is an accused in the matter, for the continuation of investigation as against the directive of the Inspector-General of Police directing him to review and furnish a report.

“Ighorhiohwunu informed the national leadership of the TIB that police officers are boasting in the zone that AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta will override the directive of the IGP and that the IGP will do nothing about it.

“They equally boasted they will turn the accuser to be the accused. In the face of what is happening, the national leadership of our organisation tends to believe this rumour as true.

“However, let us state it clearly that we will do everything as required by law to resist any attempt by anyone to use the privilege of office, to twist the law against our state coordinator or sweep the allegations under the carpet.

“We, therefore, demand that the Inspector General of Police should come out clean in this by calling the AIG Zone 5 to explain why he has refused to properly investigate and arrest all the suspects involved in this matter."