A police Corporal who was said to have killed a woman at a checkpoint in Rivers State when his gun discharged five out of eight bullets and who was discharged and acquitted of murder by a court has lost his bid for reinstatement into the Nigeria Polce Force.
Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court (NIC), sitting in Owerri, Imo State, dismissed the suit seeking the reinstatement of the police corporal, ruling that his criminal acquittal did not automatically restore his employment with the Nigeria Police Force.
Justice Ogbuanya, in the judgment on the suit filed by Corporal Fred Iwatt against the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, upheld his dismissal following disciplinary proceedings over the woman’s death.
The judge said that the central issue before the court was not whether Iwatt was criminally liable for murder, but whether his conduct during the incident rendered him unsuitable to continue serving as a police officer entrusted with a firearm.
According to available court documents, Iwatt had argued that his dismissal was based on the murder allegation and that his subsequent discharge and acquittal by the high court entitled him to return to the police.
According to the evidence before the court, Iwatt was armed with a sub-machine gun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition at a stop-and-search point. Five rounds were fired at a Volkswagen vehicle, resulting in the death of a woman inside the vehicle.
Iwatt was said to have maintained during the police orderly room proceedings that the shooting was accidental.
He said a red vehicle approached the checkpoint at high speed and that, while attempting to avoid being hit, he jumped and struck his leg against a tyre used as a barrier. He claimed that as he fell, the gun dropped from his hand and discharged the five bullets.
Justice Ogbuanya, however, rejected the argument, drawing a distinction between criminal responsibility and employment or disciplinary responsibility.
He found the explanation difficult to reconcile with the circumstances of the incident and the disciplinary charge against the officer. The judge particularly noted that Iwatt did not disprove the allegation that his rifle was loaded with eight rounds and that five rounds were fired.
The judge consequently considered whether an officer who, by his own account, had discharged five of eight rounds from his service rifle could safely be entrusted with a firearm again. Justice Ogbuanya described the rifle as a “work tool” entrusted to the officer for the performance of an important public duty.
The judge ruled that the subsequent criminal acquittal did not resolve the separate employment question of whether Iwatt remained fit and capable of responsibly handling a firearm in the course of police duties.
Justice Ogbuanya further held that the defence of “accidental discharge” could not, in the circumstances, shield an officer whose conduct demonstrated recklessness in the handling of a service weapon. He also observed that deaths resulting from alleged accidental discharges by police officers during stop-and-search operations remained a recurring concern.
The judge also relied on the report of the Divisional Police Officer, who had recommended Iwatt’s dismissal and described him as an officer who had repeatedly brought the image of the police into disrepute. Justice Ogbuanya said the report reinforced the circumstances disclosed during the orderly room proceedings.
The judge consequently upheld the punishment of dismissal, declaring it proper and deserving.
In Iwatt’s case, the court held that while the High Court’s acquittal resolved the criminal allegation against him, it did not determine whether the police were entitled to discipline him over the handling of his service weapon.
Justice Ogbuanya ultimately answered that question in favour of the police, holding that an officer’s criminal acquittal and reliance on accidental discharge did not, in the circumstances, entitle him to reinstatement where his handling of a firearm was found to be reckless.
