A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Tuesday, condemned the death of an Inspector of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abel Isah Dickson, who died after a scuffle with two colleagues.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, also demanded a comprehensive probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of the officer after a disagreement with his colleagues.

The group said it backed the hierarchy of EFCC for handing over the suspected 'killer EFCC officials' to a prosecutorial agency, demanding that the two indicted EFCC officers should be transparently prosecuted over the unjust and extra-legal killing of the EFCC cadet.

The two colleagues: Assistant Superintendent of EFCC, Apata Oluwaseun Odunayo and Inspector of EFCC, Ogbuji Titus Tochukwu, have since been arraigned in a court in Sokoto for culpable homicide.

HURIWA frowned at the charge, describing it as “irregular,” insisting that “they should be charged appropriately for murder.”

According to rights group, the soft charge of culpable homicide was a conspiratorial script to earn the accused killers soft punishment.

Dickson had a scuffle with the two over items collected from a suspect. The items were medications and some monies deposited in the suspect’s locker. He subsequently passed away on May 7, 2023, at the Usmanu DanFodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto where he was rushed to for treatment after sustaining injuries.

“Recall that this is not the first time this type of incident would occur. For instance, a businessman, Desmond Nunugwo, controversially died in EFCC custody in April 2016 on allegations of defrauding a complainant of N91m. The deceased’s family had accused the anti-graft agency then headed by Ibrahim Magu, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, of killing Nunugwo, who was reportedly healthy before his arrest.

Also, in November 2015, Arowofela Olufemi, a suspect, died in EFCC custody in controversial circumstances.

“The death of EFCC Inspector Abel Isah Dickson after a senseless scuffle with his colleagues over the items of a suspect, is most condemnable. The Chairman of the commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, must ensure a full investigation into this sad occurrence to avoid a recurrence as he has done; but basically, the prosecutor must amend the charge to reflect the appropriate charge of murder. So, if found culpable of murder, the accused persons could face the maximum sentence of death or life jail terms,” the statement read in part.

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