One week after the alleged murder of a widow Deborah Nkpenie, Akwa Ibom State police commissioner Imohimi Edgal has ordered the immediate arrest of Bassey Peter Ikpe, an Inspector of police attached to the command.

The command spokesman Odiko Macdon in a statement said the command’s decision to take action on the alleged murder was informed by publications in some dailies and online media.

“The Commissioner has instructed the Deputy Commissioner, State Criminal Investigation Department [SCID] to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter while reiterating the Command’s commitment to policing with great respect for human rights,” Macdon said.

An eyewitness said the incident took place on Thursday, Jan 16, 2020, when the deceased was invited by the police.

Another eye witness, Mfonobong Peter, who claimed to be a sister to the deceased, said “the IPO went wild with the allegation that the deceased was lying about her state of health to escape being arraigned in court.

“My late sister was beaten to death by Inspector Bassey Peter Ikpe. He had threatened her repeatedly ever since this matter came up. My sister had waist pains arising from the dislocation she had while caring for the late husband. This made it difficult for her to move about freely.

“She had become almost bedridden because of the difficulty in movement. She was highly hypertensive due to the health complications that led to the husband’s death. But this policeman refused to take even the advice of the Deputy Commissioner of Police. I don’t know what interest he had on the matter.

“He had forced her to come to the police station, so that they could appear in court on a fictitious criminal charge, against the advice of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the previous day. He beat my sister to death. Let Justice be done.

Peter said the deceased was rushed to the Police Clinic where the doctor confirmed her dead.

“On returning to the police headquarters, we were denied entry into the premises by the policemen manning the gate of the police headquarters.

Reacting to the unfolding scenario, a human rights lawyer, Clifford Thomas, who had picked interest in the case and had interacted with the DPC, said “the IPO was against the wise counsel of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the state command, considering the hypertensive state of the deceased at the time.

“Recounting the deceased’s last moments with the policeman at the premises of the police headquarters, a Keke rider, Ukpono Sunday Umoren who brought the woman to the station said;

“The policeman approached my Keke, shouted at her that she was lying about her sickness. He made efforts to drag her out, in anger; he knocked her head several times by the side rail of the Keke. The woman was screaming that she is not well.

“She began to suffocate and found it difficult to breathe. The policeman kept insisting that she was lying. He even told her that, if she wanted to die, she should die.

“As she was screaming while the policeman kept trying to pull her out of the Keke, her voice grew faint. We were begging the policeman to refrain from his hostile act towards the woman. He even refused our taking her to hospital. It was after she breathed her last, that he eventually ordered that she should be taken to the hospital,” Thomas said. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy of The Guardian)

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