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THE CORONER'S PLACE (TCP)...

Access to Justice uses the Coroner's Inquest to Show that
Bus Driver and Conductor were Murdered by Police Officers

In Re: Richard Okoroafor and Celestine Okoro

Facts:
On 29th of January 2002, Celestine Okoro, and Richard Okoroafor - Conductor and driver respectively of a commercial bus were stopped by a team of five policemen manning a checkpoint at Bariga, Lagos State. As is customary, the policemen were expecting to be handed some illicit money (N20.00)by the conductor but eyewitness accounts say the driver begged the policemen to give them free passage as they had just started the day's work having just returned from the mechanics workshop. Reports say the policemen did not oblige them. Thereafter, the driver, Richard Okoroafor collected N20 from a commuter in the bus, threw it at one of the policemen and made to continue his shuttle. Apparently unaware that the money had been given, reports say a member of the team fired a shot which hit the Conductor, Celestine Okoro, on the temple, shattered his forehead and killed him. The driver immediately raised an alarm but was also shot on the chest by the Policemen. The shooting attracted the anger of onlookers who fell on the policemen and lynched three of them while two of the policemen escaped.

"Thanks to Access to Justice making effort to revive and actualize the coroner procedure. It is time for the government of the day, the executive, the legislative and the judiciary to stand up for the protection of human life as entrenched in our constitution … by using the coroner's procedure to direct the mind of the public on the golden values of life. It is time for the Magistrates all over the federation to be enlightened [about]… the coroner's law and procedure and be empowered to make adequate use of same with a view to drawing widespread and compelling attention of the people of Nigeria to the ills of extrajudicial killings and ritual murders and with a view to eradicate these ills"

-- O.I. Adelaja, Lagos State Magistrate designated as Coroner for the Yaba Magisterial District, excerpt of a paper delivered at a workshop on Promoting Law Enforcement Accountability Using Coroner Procedures, organized by Access to Justice and the Office of Public Defender, Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

Police statements on the incident was to the effect that one person was killed by a stray bullet fired from the gun of a member of a team of policemen who were on the trail of a gang of armed robbers. The account made no mention of the accompanying mob action.

Access to Justice Intervention: Access to Justice wrote several letters to police authorities, urging them to reopen the case and carry out thorough investigation into the killings and requested that the police submit notice of the deaths to the Coroner. When police declined to do this, AJ submitted a memoranda to the coroner urging the initiation of an inquest. In consequence of this, the Magistrate (designated as Coroner for the jurisdiction) issued requisite hearing notices and commenced an inquest. Although the police was served, the police command made only one appearance at the inquest.

Verdict: After several months over which the inquest proceeding took place, the Coroner established that Celestine Okoro died from gun shot wounds on the head and that the shots came from a police officer. Furthermore, the Coroner found that Richard Okoroafor died from similar wounds on his chest, as a result of gun shots fired by a police officer. Access to Justice has requested the Director of Public Prosecution, Lagos State as well as the Police Service Commission to use the verdict as a basis for prosecuting those responsible. The Director of Public Prosecution responded to say that her office was looking into the case. No further word has been heard from the Police Service Commission.

" Governments are obliged under international law to bring perpetrators of extrajudi
cial executions to justice and compensate surviving victims or their dependants. This
obligation is clearly expressed in the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Summary or Arbitrary Executions: “In no circumstances, including a state of war, siege or other public emergency, shall blanket immunity from prosecution be granted to any person allegedly involved in extra-legal, summary or arbitrary executions” (principle 19). Accordingly, even if, in exceptional cases, Governments may decide that perpetrators should benefit from measures that would exempt them from, or limit the extent of their punishment, their obligation to bring them to justice and hold them formally accountable remains, as does the obligation to carry out prompt, thorough and impartial investigations, grant compensation to the victims or their families and adopt effective preventive measures for the future. "

Excerpt of a Report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Killings, Bacre Waly Ndiaye, to the Commission on Human Rights.