John Nathaniel, a former intelligence officer with the Nigeria Police Force, has admitted before a federal court in Canada that a special unit of the Nigerian police carried out gruesome human rights abuses, especially extra-judicial executions of suspects.

But Nathaniel, who was attached to the State Intelligence Bureau in Lagos before fleeing Nigeria to seek asylum in Canada, said he was not involved in the atrocities that held sway at the ‘Abattoir’ unit run in Abuja by the notorious but now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

His appeal was dismissed after Canadian federal judge Martine St-Louis on January 28, 2020, found his defence ludicrous, contradictory and characterised by falsehoods.

While seeking a judicial review of Canada immigration’s decision to deny him asylum, Mr Nathaniel said he served in Ikeja, Lagos, and not in Abuja where SARS operatives used their ‘Abattoir’ office in the hilly Guzape neighbourhood to maim and murder suspects with impunity. The unit has remained open for more than 15 years, and was not shut down when SARS was abolished last October following a worldwide campaign to end police savagery in Nigeria.

Mr Nathaniel initially feigned ignorance of police atrocities in Nigeria, but when Canadian immigration officers demonstrated that the Nigeria Police Force has a “criminal purpose” that has been “institutionalised” amongst its over 325,000 personnel, Mr Nathaniel changed his story and admitted that the atrocities he initially said did not exist were actually committed in Abuja.

“Mr. Nathaniel knew what was going on and that he tried to diminish his involvement, participation and knowledge of the atrocities during his testimony,” court documents reviewed by Peoples Gazette said.

Ms St-Louis heard how Police Order 237 that guides use of firearms by Nigerian police officers allows them to shoot suspects and detainees who attempt to escape or avoid arrest. It also permits officers to shoot at protesters and has become a blanket provision for abuse and a sign of the institutionalisation of police violence.

“Mr. Nathaniel’s credibility is greatly affected as it is unlikely that he would be unaware of the systematic and widespread violations and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the NPF,” Ms St-Louis heard.

The court also referenced parts of a 2010 report that documented systemic crimes against humanity by the Nigerian police as published by the Open Society Justice Initiative, in collaboration with the Network for Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN).

Ms St-Louis also dismissed Mr Nathaniel’s argument that he joined the police because he was encouraged by his father and uncle, both of whom he said served Nigeria diligently, loyally and professionally.

The court documents revealed that Mr Nathaniel entered Canada seeking asylum in August 2017. In his application, Mr Nathaniel indicated that he had worked at the SIB in Lagos and was a police officer from March 2000 to January 2017. He said he fled Nigeria in fear for his and his wife’s safety. 

In April, the Gazette reported that a Canadian judge denied asylum to Olushola Popoola, a former member of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad on the grounds of his association with the brutal unit and the Nigeria Police Force as a whole. 

On September 13, The Gazette also published the decision of another federal judge in Canada who denied asylum to Charles Ukoniwe, a former Nigerian police sergeant, over his extensive service in an organisation deemed to have a criminal objective.

A spokesman for the police in Abuja denied requests seeking comments about the growing allegations of brutality emanating from former officers seeking asylum in Canada.

Download Mr Nathaniel’s judicial review here.