The recent #EndSARS protest has exposed a great deal of atrocities that have been committed by many officers of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), including those allegedly perperated by one James Nwafor.
James Nwafor was a former commander of the Awkuzu SARS who retired from service as a CSP and still rose, despite rumors of his atrocities, to become a Senior Special Adviser on Security to the governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
Despite pleas of many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, children and relatives to get justice for their loved ones who at some point time, were either killed, became deformed or left with damaged spinal cords, whenever they fell into his hands, James Nwafor walked a free man.
There were also allegations that many who walked into Awkuzu SARS under the leadership of Nwafor never came out alive. He was alleged to have killed scores, innocent or not, and disposed their bodies in the Ezu River located at the boundary between Anambra and Enugu State.
Several journals published by international rights organization, Amnesty International, describes Nwafor to have been very ruthless.
However, on Thursday, the #EndSARS protesters biesieged the government house in Awka, calling on Gov. Obiano to sack and prosecute the notorious former OC SARS.
The governor obliged to the demands of the people and directed that all those illegally detained in SARS centres across the state will be release, while Nwafor was immediately sacked and will be prosecuted.
“Today, I joined youths of our dear state to say #EndPoliceBrutality and I support them because they did not only vote and defend their votes in my 21-over-21 victory, but all their requests are genuine and germane; and I obliged to honour them all,” Obiano wrote on Twitter.
After carefully following up on several allegations levelled against the notorious Nwafor, The Street Journal will be sharing some of these with you.
Account by Obianuju Emmanuels (Kween obianuju Emmanuels on Facebook)
According to Obianuju, her brother has been missing since 2012 after he was arrested Mr. Nwafor and his men who allegedly boasted to have ended his life.
She explained a few months ago:
He is a bloodthirsty murderer. But before I will explain further, some introduction.
His name is James Nwafor, he was a police officer. His highest rank before retirement was ASP. Currently, he’s SSA to the Anambra State government on Security, he’s from Ebonyi State, a father, grandfather, uncle, brother.
My family’s path collided with him in November 2012, when my brother was arrested at Ajali, my family went to the police station at Ajali and they said SARS Awkuzu had taken the arrested boys. So my parents went to SARS Awkuzu, this man blatantly denied ever making any arrest or transfers and assured my dad that the boy wasn’t in their custody but as fate may have it, as my parents were leaving the station, they saw my brother and other boys handcuffed together and being led in. My mum screamed and pointed at him, telling this man that that was her son. He ordered that my parents be pushed out that day. The next day, my parents went back and this man told them point-blank that he had killed my brother and that there’s nothing that can be done about it. My mum collapsed immediately and had to be taken to the hospital.
However, lots of people including some SARS officers said that he was bluffing and wanted us to bring money. So we brought money, yet he refused to budge, we sold lands and took money in bags yet he didn’t budge. We then went to the commissioner of police Anambra state as at then, Mr Bala Nasarawa, he called Mr James and he claimed they had a shootout with armed robbers and probably my brother was one of them, my parents told him they saw the boy at the station and then James, again, denied ever arresting the boy.
Then Mr Bala Nasarawa looked my parents in the eye and told them that there’s nothing further he could do since Mr James had denied ever arresting or detaining the boy (apparently my parents can’t identify their own son or they are blind) and that his (Bala Nasarawa) hands were tied.
So we went to human rights, of course, they took the money and promised heaven and earth and yet, nothing happened, we didn’t get my brother. See eh, the challenge, however, is that people who made it out of the station as at early 2013 said my brother was still there. They came to my father and told him to make more offers and he did but still no show.
However, I’m calling on everyone to ask James Nwafor to kindly explain what happened to my brother, where is he? For those who would ask why are you speaking now, mind you that I have been asking this same question on twitter, where I could tag police handles.
Mr James Nwafor was the OC of SARS Awkuzu during the period when over 40 dead bodies from SARS Awkuzu were thrown into the oji river at the boundary of Enugu and Anambra State. This man’s act had my father swimming in the river to see if he can identify my brother, he didn’t find his body amongst those that were dumped there. During his time at SARS Awkuzu, the station was known as an abattoir for human and it was well known that Human parts can be bought at any point there.
This man was renounced by many civil and human rights organisations, yet the Anambra State government under the leadership of Governor Willie Obiano made him an SSA just to shield him from persecution.
Yesterday, he was called by a lawyer to ask him questions about my brother’s case and he said the lawyer should do his worst as nothing can happen to him.
I’m asking simply that James Nwafor tells us what happened to my brother. If he was a criminal, isn’t it the right thing to take him to court and have him sued and sentenced? Doesn’t a family deserve to know what happened to their child? At what point is it right to kill someone who was already arrested and in custody? Is Mr James Nwafor above the law? Please help my family find justice, we want to know if my brother is alive or dead and if dead why?
A Victim of Nwafor – Chijoke
A Victim of Nwafor – Chijoke
The account of CSP Bonaventure Chokwebundu Mokwe
My coming in contact with the outfit started on August 1st 2013, when my Upper class hotel was demolished. On the very date, I drove into my hotel from my residence at around 7.30 in the morning. Minutes after that, a truck load of Police men arrived and surrendered my hotel. It did not take long before the crowd started gathering outside of the hotel as I looked through my office window.
It took sometime before some of the police officers walked into my office with Dr Justin Nwankwo. My other hotel staff has already been beaten to a pulp down stairs. I introduced myself and they said that they wanted to search the whole of the hotel premises and I said no problem.
We started from the last floor of the hotel, room after room and most of the rooms were occupied by guests that are mostly traders from Cameron. We finally got to the first floor but before then, one of the officers had demanded that we show them room 102.
When we got to room 102, the door was locked and I turned and asked Dr Nwankwo Justin whether a guest paid for the room the day before and he said yes. I asked about the manifest of the hotel lodging and he said that he had submitted the police copy to SCIB at the Central Police station Onitsha which every hotel is obligated to do before 7A.M. every day. I instructed him to bring our own copy which he hurriedly did and we showed it to the police. The guest gave his name as John Obi.
The officers insisted on breaking the door and I pleaded with them to wait for the guest for some time. the customers of Upper class hotel are predominantly traders from Cameron and Niger republic and that they carry a lot of cash with them. That has been the case since 1974 the hotel was built because of its nearness to main market Onitsha.
Before I could finish, they broke the door and entered the room. We saw black polyethylene bags ( waterproof) all over the room with an open suitcase. The officers then opened the wardrobe and brought out a bag. Inside the bag was two human skulls with sand all over them and two rusted and unservicable AK47 guns.
I was promptly leg chained on both legs and Dr Justin Nwankwo was handcuffed. I was taken to the outside corridor of the hotel and made to kneel down while holding the exhibits and they took pictures. At that point, from the faces I saw amongst the crowd with axes and matchet , I then knew where the whole incident came from, hazzard of land business along with motor park duel.
By the time I was led downstairs, practically most of the police officers has all headed back to the station with the exception of the ones that accompanied me. The crowd were surging to clearly mob me. Luckily for me, I came to the office with my Q56 infinity SUV and the leg chain gave me some space to drive.
As I entered my SUV and started the Engine and pushed down the vehicle auxiliary, I turned around to the police officers and told them that I already know what happened and that if the crowd rushes at me, I will fill up the MORTUARY at the general hospital Onitsha including myself. As I surged on, one of the police officers opened the vehicle door and started firing rapidly in the air. That pretty well saved me and some of those people.
From the Area command Onitsha, we headed to Awkuzu Sars with Csp James Nwafor and his team. Dr Justin Nwankwo and the staff were packed in one vehicle while I myself, Csp James Nwafor and three other Sars officers were in another vehicle .
When we got to the present ROAD SAFETY office along the Enugu/Onitsha, before you get to Awkuzu Sars, James Nwafor turned around and said to me:
1. You will never see that hotel again.
2. He will kill me whether I am innocent or
or not and that, if I am innocent,
may my blood be on him and his
children.
When we then entered Awkuzu proper, Dr Justin Nwankwo was kept in their torture hall while I was taken behind the torture hall where James Nwafor mostly does his killing. Behind the very torture hall , I was chained to a local weight lifting device . After some period James Nwafor came back with some officers along with one other officer I latter discovered to be his deputy by name Csp Sunday Okpe.
Sunday Okpe inspected the exhibits for some time and asked me the following questions:
1. Where the exhibits recovered in my office and I said no, it was recovered in a guest room.
2. Do we have hotel manifest and I answered yes and that we submitted the police copy early in the morning but that my manager has a duplicate copy.
He inspected the exhibits yet again and said that the skulls looks old and that the guns has not been in use for a long time, why is all the exhibits in one bag he asked while the rest looked on. As he turned to leave, he muttered; this looks like mago mago.
His observation did not stop James Nwafor. Not long after that, one of the officers came back with an already written statement and I was asked to sign. I refused saying that I am quite capable of writing my own statement.
My torture commenced immediately.
I was overpowered and my shirt was removed from me. They then wrapped my neck with the shirt and then followed it will a green rope and they started pulling from both ends. Gentlemen I was gone. They then appended my thumprint on the prepared statement that substantiated the allegations against me. Meanwhile Dr Justin Nwankwo was seeing hell in the torture hall.
When I eventually regained consciousness, I found myself in their death chamber called cell 5. It is the cell that is reserved for those James Nwafor will kill. Congested and extremely dirty. Food is not allowed in the very Cell unless periodic loafs of bread which is shared in slices. One bucket of water every day for drinking.
The shock of my life happened on the second or the third day of being in the very cell 5. There is this small boy of between the age of 19 and 22, a second year Engineering student of FUTO. He calls me uncle. He told me that he is an only son of the mother and that his supremely rich uncle, based in lagos wanted to annex his own father’s portion of family land and that his father is late. His resistance against the uncle landed him at Sars as a kidnapper and armed robber.
Then, it was either on the second or third night of my staying in the condemned cell, the door of the cell opened late one night. What I saw was a touch light. Names were being called one after the other, 17 names in all including the small boy and they were ordered out and the door closed back.
It did not take more than 15 minutes, gunshots filled the air, nne moh nne moh is all I could hear. The 17 young men were slaughtered cold blood.
I lost it that night. My system just shut down.
It was either the 4th or 5th day that the door opened one morning and it was the same Sunday Okpe that called my name and told me to come out. No energy was left in me because I have not eaten real food except periodic slices of bread. He bought me something to eat along with a malt drink.
I was subsequently transferred to cell 1. After some days, I was called into James Nwafor’s office to see my wife and my lawyer professor Umenweke Nnama Meshach. I tried to get Dr. Justin Nwankwo to join me but they refused.
As time went on, I discovered that the case has hanged because there was no complainant. Even James Nwafor voiced out some frustration when he said, the hotel demolition was too fast. This is the same person that told me that I will never see the hotel again.
He became unusually friendly towards me but I knew it was a damage control .The latitude then allowed me to study what truly obtains at the AWKUZU Sars. I witnessed some of the tortures and I became aware of some their cases along with what really happens in the place.
1. I witnessed an incident when a young trading apprentice was arrested by Sars on behalf of the master over a missing 250,000 or thereabout . He broke his spinal cord and died when he was subjected to what they call HANGING TORTURE. He was written off as an armed robber.
2. I witnessed an incident during what they call verification excise or something like that. All the inmates will be brought out in the open yard and all will be seated on the ground. When your name is called, you will stand up and answer some questions. There is this boy that was called up and James Nwafor asked him; Are you from Ogidi ? before the boy could finish saying no, James shot him with a silver coloured pistol which is always with him. The boy bled to death right there.
3. I also witnessed the practice of shifting inmates in the middle of the night to Nneni for the purposes of dodging official inspection of the place. Nneni Sars annex is another abattoir. Starvation of inmates and outright shooting is the rule their. If the government undertakes the excavation of the perimeter of the Nneni anex, The Ezu river will be a joke compared to what will be discovered.
Read Also: JUST IN: Obiano Fullfils Promise, Sacks James Nwafor As security Aide
I saw other killings at the very place. Every morning, the inmates of CELL 1 will be called to carry a dead body or two behind the torture hall. Any individual that has been detained by Sars for an extended period of time will tell you exactly that.
Let me clarify an issue here. Csp James Nwafor does not release proven kidnappers or armed robbers, he kills them but, with a negotiated huge amount of money, James will at most, charge the person to court. Outright release of the person is off as far as I know.
What I also know is that, he can be bought to do a particular job, death inclusive, if the price is right.
Let me stop here but there are more details. If the government of the day is desirous of appeasing the victims of Sars, the government should offer immunity to some officers that served under James Nwafor and they will lead investigators to the exact location of corpse dump in the vicinity of Nneni. Some of the Sars victims can at least recover the body of their loved ones for burial.
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