Father of slain 23-year-old Marketing student of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, late Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu, has called for the prosecution of all the police officers and civilians involved in the gruesome murder of his son.

Mr Emmanuel Uwagbaokwu, in his cry for justice, alleged that a Police patrol team and some other persons, including a Pastor, barged into his compound in Ohobo Afara, Umuahia, on the night of Thursday, September 10, 2015 and shot his son dead in cold blood.

Sources alleged that the pastor’s church along Aba Road, Umuahia, was raided by thieves who carted away musical equipment, and the pastor, on suspicion that one of Uwagbaokwu’s sons perpetrated the act, saw the patrol team and appealed to them to come with him to the “suspect’s” house and effect his arrest.

The father of the deceased further alleged that on arrival at his family house, the police, in their hunt for the “suspect(s),” started shouting “where is he? where is he?” just as they were simultaneously kicking at and breaking doors in search of their target.

He said that late Vincent, who was already asleep when the police arrived, woke up suddenly and attempted to jump through the window in his drowsiness but was gunned down by the police who never even knew his identity.

Vincent, according to his father, died instantly, and he took his corpse to the World Bank Police Station, Ehinmiri, but the DPO denied the complicity of his men in the dastardly act even when the cars used by the patrol team were said to be parked in the premises and also refused to allow the case to be incidented.

Heartbroken, Mr Uwagbaokwu took his case to the Area Command, where after dilly dallying, the Area Commander ordered an investigation into the gruesome murder of Vincent.

In a petition to the Inspector-General of Police dated November 6, 2015, Mr Uwagbaokwu, through his lawyer, C. A. Ajaegbu, stated that during investigation, the DPO of World Bank Police Station admitted that his men killed Vincent but made no arrest and nothing else happened until the bereaved family and community members began to protest, thereby forcing the DPO to transfer the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

However, at the SCID, Mr Uwagbaokwu was to face another hurdle as he accused the Investigating Police Officer, one Corporal Obasi, of doing a “very shabby job” and extorting huge sums of money from him under the pretence of investigating the crime, including goading him to pay N200,000 into a bank account for an autopsy that was not conducted before the matter was charged to court.

In the petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Barrister Ajaegbu alleged: “Surprisingly, on 5/11/2015, at about 10 pm, the IPO, without any previous information to my client, called him on phone and requested him to bring more money, and come together with his lawyer to Chief Magistrate Court, Afugiri, Umuahia as the matter is going to be charged to the said court on 6/11/2015 by 9 am.”

Uwagbaokwu said he was further shocked when on getting to the said court he discovered that only one Sergeant Alieze Ogbonna was charged to court for murder, leaving out the suspected accomplices.

He called for the prosecution of the complement of the patrol team and their civilian accomplices for murder and conspiracy to murder.

In the petition, Mr Uwagbaokwu’s lawyer contended that late Vincent, being the fourth son of his client, was the future hope of his client’s family and his community and was never a criminal.

“That this callous act of murder by the above mentioned persons and conspiracy to murder by the above mentioned persons, shabby investigation and hurried arraignment cannot be swept under the carpet in order not to allow other blood-thirsty police vampires and their civilian cohorts feast on innocent Nigerians,” the petition reads in part.

The petitioner finally submitted: “It is based on the above, Sir, that we call on you to use your good offices for an unbiased and in-depth investigation of this matter so as to ensure that justice is done and the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to book as that is the only thing that will bring peace to the restive soul of Mr. Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu, my client, his family members, Ohobo-Okwulaga community.”

•Photo by Boniface Okoro shows slain student Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu..

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