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UK police pay ‘lip service’ to protecting women, says father of abuse victim

The father of a woman who died after being choked by her abusive partner has accused police of paying “lip service” to the protection of women and girls and called for a public inquiry into the culture of UK police.

West Midlands police apologised last month for a number of failings in the case of Suzanne Van Hagen, 34, who suffered months of domestic abuse before she died in February 2013.

Suzanne’s father, Les Van Hagen, said police were called nine times to the flat his daughter shared with her partner, John Worton, who had a history of being abusive to former girlfriends and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

On one occasion, he said, police officers were called to an attack on Van Hagen but ended up arresting her after finding cannabis belonging to Worton. Worton was not arrested despite the assault, he said.

West Midlands police have admitted missing several opportunities to protect Van Hagen before she died.

Her father said: “We should never have been put through what we were put through. You trust these people and they don’t do their job properly.”

The police’s handling of violence against women and girls is under new scrutiny after the murder of Sarah Everard by the Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens.

Mr Van Hagen backed calls for a public inquiry into claims of institutional misogyny in UK policing, saying his daughter’s case was “just not taken seriously” by West Midlands police.

A neighbour, who was asked by police to keep a log of suspected abusive incidents at Van Hagen’s flat, made a note of 27 occasions before she was found dead with bruising around her neck.

The force initially told Van Hagen’s family that she had been murdered by Worton who had then killed himself.

But detectives later changed their view and issued a statement saying she died from a suspected drug overdose, after alcohol and stimulant BZP were found in her system.

Officers said that bruising around her neck was the result of a sex game and ruled the cause of death was an accidental drug overdose.

But a police review in 2017 found that the senior investigating officer in the case failed to make proper enquiries about marks to Van Hagen’s neck. The force later admitted that its initial assumption about drugs had led to an “inaccurate narrative” about her death.

In a statement last month, the West Midlands chief constable Dave Thompson apologised for the “serious shortcomings” in the force’s handling of the case, before and after Suzanne’s death.

He said: “We deeply regret a number of missed opportunities to investigate Suzanne’s circumstances more widely and to engage with her.

“We could and should have done more to protect Suzanne and her daughter from the abuse they were suffering. To compound the family’s pain, they were let down by a failure to properly investigate Suzanne’s death.”

Mr Van Hagen said on Monday that the family had still not received a written apology from the police, despite the force publishing a video apology last month.

“It’s just lip service,” he said. “They found out they had made big, big, big mistakes in Suzanne’s case about three and a half years ago. It’s taken another three years to get this apology.”

On one occasion, a police family liaison officer told Van Hagen’s younger sister: “Your sister had two legs and she should have used them.”

Wayne Jones, the detective who led the failed investigation into Van Hagen’s death, was sacked two years later for sexually harassing four female colleagues.

The Van Hagens’ family lawyers, Deighton Pierce Glynn, said the case highlighted the “institutional discrimination against women by the police”.

Mr Van Hagen said: “The guy had a criminal record as long as your arm, he was not allowed to see his children because of domestic violence and yet he was allowed to have access to our granddaughter. The police knew, the social services knew, the mental health people knew this – but they just didn’t do anything about it. And then to cap it all, when Suzanne died they didn’t bother to investigate her death.”

After complaints by the family, a West Midlands police professional standards report found: “The police response to the domestic violence suffered by Suzanne Van Hagen was very poor, inadequate, lacked positive action and was not as the force and the public could have reasonably expected. West Midlands police did not take this domestic violence seriously.”

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Those found guilty of corruption should not enjoy pardon —AGF

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has stated that those found guilty of corruption should not be granted state pardons. He also advised law enforcement agencies to avoid shoddy investigations, urging them to have all necessary facts before summoning individuals for questioning.

The AGF made these remarks at a roundtable organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for state Attorneys-General in Abuja on Monday. “I will suggest in our next constitution review exercise that we expunge those found guilty of corruption from benefiting from powers of ‘Prerogative of Mercy’ to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.

In a statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Fagbemi emphasized the importance of cooperation from all stakeholders, particularly the Attorneys-General, in the fight against corruption. He urged them to avoid nepotism, political witch-hunting, rivalry, and bigotry in their efforts to fight corruption merely to please their governors.

The minister further stated that there should be no justification for rationalizing corruption or other crimes. He advised that legal opinions on cases should be based strictly on facts, as is the practice in advanced countries, adding, “We should not give in to public sentiments. In Nigeria, we are polarised along political lines.”

The AGF also urged participants and anti-graft agencies to conduct thorough investigations before arresting suspects to prevent unnecessary media trials. “Let us be thorough and take our time before inviting someone for questioning. Don’t do a shoddy job and be quick to say we have caught a big fish…You will catch a big fish. If it is two or three big fish you are able to get in a year and you are thorough, it is alright,” he stated.

Additionally, Fagbemi advised against filing exaggerated or bogus charges against defendants to create public frenzy. He said, “Nobody wants a 50-count charge…make it five or six and be sure. Make sure you get him (suspect) in.”

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Tinubu condoles with families of victims, Niger govt over traffic petrol tanker explosion

President Bola Tinubu has sent heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Niger State on the petrol tanker explosion on the Bida-Agaie-Lapai- road on Sunday in Niger State, which claimed the lives of 48 people and livestock.

According to the Niger Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), many people were injured in the accident, which also involved a truck loaded with cattle and passengers.

President Tinubu commiserated with the families of the dead and injured victims. He also sympathised with the owners of shops affected by the tragedy.

He prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

The President commended the federal and state emergency agencies for their swift response. He similarly commended the good-spirited Nigerians who mobilised to the incident scene to assist the victims.

He pledged continued support for efforts aimed at providing relief to those affected.

President Tinubu has directed relevant federal agencies in transportation and road infrastructure to redouble their efforts and work with state governments to enhance the safety and security of travellers and residents.

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Nigerian businessman Ogionwo charged for $300,000 scam in Oil deal

The Inspector General of Police, through legal officer S.O. Ayodele from the Federal Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos, has filed a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretenses and theft against Nigerian businessman Ebi Otisaye Ogionwo.

In the charges presented before the Federal High Court in Lagos, Ayodele alleges that in 2022, Ogionwo fraudulently obtained $300,000 from Mr. Oluwatosin Adefila of Beltzemo Nigeria Limited. The funds were purportedly meant to finance an oil trading business, but this representation was false.

The charges against Ogionwo are in violation of Section 1 (1) (c) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.

The two count charge as filed before the court

Count one:

That you, Ebi Otsaye Ogionwo “M” sometimes in 2022,in Lagos, within the Judicial Division of this Honorable Court, did by false pretence and with intent to defraud obtained the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars (S300,000:00) from one Mr. Oluwatosin Adefila of Boltzemo Nigeria Limited under the guise of using the said funds for financing Oil Trading Business, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offer contrary to Section 1(1)(c) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fec,raud and other Related Offences Act 2006, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

Count two:

That you Ebi Otsaye Ogionwo “M” on the same date, time and place, and in the aforementioned Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did steal the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00) from one Mr.Oluwatosin Adefila of Belztzemo Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Act,Cap C 38,Laws of the Federation of Nigeria,2004.

Meanwhile, 14th of October, 2024 has been fixed for the arraignment of the defendant.