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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

POLICE BRUTALITY: The Agony Of A Widow

Agony of a widow
The death of Mr. Eze Okoro a resident of No 1 Oguntolu Street, Meiran Alagbado in Lagos on March 8, 2013 has put his family in a confused and agonizing condition. His bereaved wife, Mrs. Ugonna Okoro, told Saturday Sun that on that date, men suspected to be police from the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja Lagos, without provocation or justification, shot him on the back, killing him instantly in front of his residence. She said he was shot point-blank at about 9 pm. According to her, the victim was killed shortly after he returned from his daily business.
The man had decided to stay out-door for some fresh air when he met his death. She narrated: “He returned home from business at about 8.00 pm on that day. As was his daily routine, he took his bath, had dinner and went to sit outside to get some fresh air with his friend, Mr. Chinedu Nwaonu and his pregnant wife. He was only dressed in a pair of short and slippers, and hung his shirt on his shoulder.” She added that, “suddenly, they heard sporadic gunshots and three of them, alongside other frightened residents, ran for safety. The pregnant woman fell down and was pleading with one of the policemen who accosted her, that she was pregnant and a resident in the area. The pregnant woman also told the policeman that she came out with her husband-pointing at him, to get some fresh air outside, since there was no power supply that night. As a result, the policemen left her and her husband to go.”
But while that was on, her husband, according to her, was held by another policeman and was probably interrogating him. “At the same time, another policeman had already accosted my husband who had his hands raised and pleaded that he was also a resident, pointing to his house. But his plea did not go well with the policeman, as they shot him at the back; he fell bleeding profusely and the policemen bundled him into their vehicle and drove away.” She alleged that the policemen, who perpetrated the act, had earlier spent some hours, drinking at an hotel – Olaks International Hotel – close to the residence of the victim before the incident.
“They took his body to an undisclosed location and we seached for him for three days. We went to several police stations, trying to locate him, but we could not. But on Tuesday, March 12, the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) of Meiran, on the directives of the Divisional Police Officer, gave us a note to go to SARS, Ikeja, a second time, to inquire. On getting there, we met the O/C SARS, Ikeja, Mr. Abba Kyari and his 2i/c, Mr. Peter, who told us that they were sorry, that it was a case of mistaken identity and that my husband was ‘killed in error.”’ Mrs. Okoro expressed surprise that after meeting with SARS and hearing that her husband was “killed in error,” a police press statement was reported in the media, saying that “my husband was hit by robbers’ bullet during a gun battle between armed robbers and the police, even when there was no exchange of gun shots around the scene at the time of the incident.”
The distressed widow also said an autopsy was conducted on her husband by the police in spite of any member of the Okoro family and the result has not been made available them, months after the incident. “Could you believe that the police went ahead to do an autopsy on my husband without carrying any of the family members along and as I am speaking with you, we are yet to get the result. What we were able to get is the death certificate, because LASUTH decided to hand that over to me as his wife.” She therefore called on the police authority to investigate the matter to ascertain the circumstances of her husband’s death. “The body of my husband is still in the mortuary because we want the police to investigate the matter because he cannot be killed in that way. My husband was with two other people when the incident took place. The police allowed other two people to go and shot my husband, despite his plea. He was neither armed nor posed any threat to the lives of the policemen or to any other person at the time he was killed.
So, I do not know why he should be shot dead and render me a widow.” She therefore called on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Manko and the Inspector General of Police, Mohamed Abubakar to investigate the matter. “I want the police authority to look into the matter and tell me exactly who was responsible for the death of my husband. Some neighbours who pleaded anonymity told Saturday Sun that there was no gun-battle around the scene of the incident.
Said one: “There was not robbery or exchange of bullets between the police and armed robbers. The truth is that the policemen that perpetrated the act had been on surveillance at a nearby hotel. It could be that they were on trail of someone.” Another resident expressed shock that Eze Okoro was the victim of the gunshots that was heard at the neighbourhood on the day of the incident. “I was shocked to hear that Eze, a good neighbour to almost everybody, was the one they killed that night. Really, we heard the gunshots but did not know what was going on. It was after the incident and the police people left, we noticed that Eze was the one they shot.” He stated there was presence of some unidentified men around the scene earlier in the day.
“We saw some men going around the area, but we did not know that they were policemen. So, it was after the incident that we learnt that the policemen that perpetrated the act had been in a nearby hotel for sometime.” He revealed that there was no robbery incident or exchange of gunshot as the police claimed. “To tell you the truth, there was no robbery incident around our area before that time. So, we were surprised to hear gunshots from the plane clothes policemen that night.” Meanwhile, Kyari told this paper on telephone that the policemen at the centre of the incident were on the trail of some of robbers who were hiding in that vicinity and at sighting the police, the robbers opened fire at them and that it was in the process that Eze Okoro was suspected to have received bullet wounds. He said that immediately after the incident, the victim was rushed to hospital where he died.
“It was rather unfortunate that late Eze was caught in the crossfire. We sympathize with the late Okoro family and pray that God will give them then fortitude to bear the loss.” As at the time of filing this report, the body of the deceased was still in Lagos University Hospital mortuary waiting for the final investigation on the matter. Confirming the incident, the Lagos Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that the police is still investigating the matter and will ensure that justice is served if its men are found culpable.
She also sympathized with the wife and family members of late Eze Okoro. Consequently, a human rights organization, NOPRIN, has called on the Inspector General of Police to check the increasing spate of police killings in the country and bring the trigger-happy and murderous officers and men to account. Programme Coordinator of the group, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma said it would serve as deterrent to others. “The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar should please intervene in the reoccurring incident of killing of innocent Nigerians by the police by bringing the culprits to book. That would serve as a deterrent to others. If allowed to continue, it would get to the extent where lives will no longer be safe. In as much as I would want the Nigeria Police to continue to fight crime, it has to be done with caution.”
Source: Sun News

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