A human rights activist, Prince Wiro and the Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) have demanded a thorough investigation into the killing of a 42-year-old man, Alafuro Peterside, by a trigger-happy police officer.

Peterside, a father of three was hit by the officer’s bullet in the presence of his wife and three children at the weekend.

However, the police, in the state, said the officer was shooting after robbers fled a crime scene when a stray bullet struck the man.

Spokesperson for Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, told newsmen that the police officer has been arrested.

She stressed that the officer shot in the air in response to the alarm raised by some persons that there were robbers around the area, adding that a bullet from the gun accidentally hit the victim.

Reacting, Wiro, the National Coordinator of Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, said such a matter should not be swept under the carpet in any disguise

He argued that a trained police officer should know how to handle arms, disagreeing that Peterside’s death was accidental.

Wiro said: “The killing of the father of three under any guise of accidental discharge is condemnable. It is something that should not happen in the first place, because an officer trained in professional ways of handling arms, should not talk about accidental discharge.

“Anyone who kills anybody under any guise should be charged for murder out rightly.

“So, we insist that a thorough investigation should be carried out and upon conclusion, the suspect should be arraigned in court to serve as a deterrent to others.”

The activist called on the state governor, Similarity Fubara, and the State Commissioner of Police, Emeka Nwonye, to ensure that justice prevails on the matter to stop further reckless and extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens by police officers.

While condoling the widow and rest of the family members, he prayed to God to grant them the grace to bear the loss.

Similarly, the APC in Rivers State has expressed sadness over the gruesome murder of Peterside by serving personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.

Spokesperson for the party, Darlington Nwauju, in a statement, said the extra-judicial killings of citizens in Rivers State has become one-too-many given the unenviable human rights record set by the police in the state with the torture and killing of ChimaIkwunado, the Ikokwu mechanic in December 2019; Lovenda Elekwachi, in April 2020, and now, Peterside.

Meanwhile, the wife and the three children of the deceased have called for justice over the killing of their breadwinner.

The wife lamented that the late husband was the breadwinner and financial pillar of their family, wondering how she would cope with hard times in the country.

She insisted that her husband was shot directly and not by stray bullets as claimed by the police, adding that she and her three children aged 11, eight and four, are yet to recover from the shock of his death. (The Guardian)

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