Homicide detectives attached to the Criminal Investigations Department, CID of Anambra state police command are now working round the clock to unravel the circumstances surrounding the alleged murder in cold blood of one Chibueze Samuel Nwakor, by some policemen in Onitsha.

Already, three policemen attached to Onitsha police Area Command who were said to be involved in the alleged shooting and killing of Nwakor, a father of three are now being detained in connection with the incident.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga who confirmed the incident in a telephone chat, yesterday, said investigations were ongoing, adding that arrangement has been concluded to conduct an autopsy on the deceased to ascertain it’s veracity.

In a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, dated October 18. This year, a copy of which was made available to newsmen yesterday in Onitsha by counsel to the bereaved family members, Anayo Emejue Esq., the detained policemen had on Friday, October 13. Shot and killed Nwakor for no justifiable reason or provocation.

The petition was copied to Anambra state Director of State Security Services, SSS, the state Commissioner of Police, CP, the state Director of State Security Services, SSS, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Director of National Human Rights Commission, Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF and the Director-General of United Action Against Corruption and Injustice International.

In the petition, Emejue alleged

That Nwakor, now deceased, who lived at No. 15F Hakuna Street, Odoakpu by Sokoto Road Junction, near the Onitsha Main Market, was shot dead by the police team led by one Jude Utazii for allegedly refusing to answer their questions when they accosted him at the scene.

According to the petitioner, “the trigger-happy policemen shot him and jumped into their ash coloured commuter Hiarce bus and zoomed off, adding, when the victim was rushed to a nearby White Chapel private hospital for medical attention, the doctor demanded for a police extract and out of fear of the severity of the bullet wounds, referred his friends and neighbours to another nearby private hospital known as New Hope where he was declared dead on arrival”.

“More annoying is the fact that while the body of Nwakor, a father of three and an indigene of Owerre-Ezukala community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra state, is presently being deposited in the mortuary, the police officers who intentionally killed the innocent man were seen at the police headquarters cracking jokes about the incidence when the relatives of the deceased were invited to see the police commissioner.”.

“This is not a case of criminal investigation, self defence, resistance to arrest or case of any criminality. This is not also even a case of torture or assault on the victim, nor a case of trespass to the person, but willful murder of a citizen without any justification or provocation. It is now rampant for some police officers to abandon their primary duties of crime detection, prevention and control to dabbling into enforcement of debts and contracts between quarreling parties and using it’s coercive powers to breach citizen’s rights and/or promote illegalities and oppression”.

“Unfortunately, these three officers have taken the life of this helpless and harmless young man and the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Dorcas Nwakor wants the Nigeria Police to explain why she was forced into widowhood without notice”.

“It must be born in mind that the law of the land is no respecter pod any person because murder or unlawful homicide when caused by an act done in the prosecution of an unlawful purpose is punishable as stipulated by law and it is more worrisome when the offender is somebody paid to secure the li’s and properties of the victim”.

Pic shows the deceased carrying his baby when he was alive. (Vanguard)

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