By Oghenekevwe Laba
Group under the aegis of Anioma Voice Worldwide has raised the alarm over alleged xtra-judicial killing activities of men and officers of Delta State Police command, alleging that the past few months have witnessed a lot of senseless and avoidable bloodletting of Delta youths by men of the Delta State Police Command whose constitutional duty is to serve and protect every Nigerian citizen, including Delta state citizens.
Reacting to what they described as the rapid drift of the State Police command into an oppressive and killer squad, the group in a statement jointly signed by Akamesike Manuel O’coney, Chief Messenger, Frank Ofili, Asst National Chief Messenger, Victorio Essem, National Public Relations Messenger, Smart Ajaja. International Relations Messenger, Barnabas Okwudibie, Intra State Relations Messenger and El Geof Chiz. National General Messenger alleged that the activities of the state police has assumed a disturbing dimension which must be addressed soonest before it is too late.
The statement disclosed that the State Police Command has been allegedly linked directly or indirectly as principals or accomplices to a state-wide violent shootings starting from Asaba, Warri, Agbor, Abavo, Obiaruku, Oghara and to Uzere Kingdom which have cut down quite a few promising young Deltans in their prime, mostly without trial and also exposed several others to fatal injuries and a lot more running for cover.
“It is particularly painful for us to replay some of the recent objectionable impunities and crass negligence of the sanctity of human lives which have led to untimely deaths of some Delta youths in the hands of this trigger-happy, killer Police command led by a command leadership that prides itself as a highly decorated police team in the ECOWAS sub region for their community policing prowess.
“We recall the case of the late Anigbogu brothers who were shot dead in broad daylight under no provocation by a police officer at Asaba sometime in the middle of 2012. Till this moment the police have not given any clear reason why the two brothers should be killed in the manner they were slaughtered.
“We can also recall that on December 9 2012, Queen Kamene Okonjo, the mother of Nigeria’s Finance Minister was unfortunately abducted from her home at Ogwashi-Uku, leading to both the Nigerian Presidency and the Delta State Government unleashing all the security arsenals never ever deployed since the war against local terrorism was launched. Specifically, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, in a rare show of commitment to the safety and security of Deltans, gave the Police Commissioner and the Delta State Police Command a 48 hours marching order to find the kidnappers, and within 48 hours, a suspect, Mr. Nwose Nwanze aka Bolaji, who appeared to have been on the Police radar for his alleged past criminal activities was felled in a Gestapo fashion, after which the State Police Command issued a statement to the effect the victim was the kingpin of the kidnap ring that abducted Queen Kamene Okonjo.
“Interestingly however, facts now available from the confessions of Mr. Chiejine Onochie who helped to provide the kidnap ring information about Queen Kamene Okonjo contradict earlier statement of the State Police Command. Before these facts became public knowledge, scores of Ozanogogo youths and women were illegally arrested, detained and money extorted from them, at a military base in Benin City, Edo State, ostensibly in an attempt to fish out the kidnappers of Queen Kamene Okonjo.
“We also recall the incident of May 5, 2013 in which Mr. Ndubisi Ashikordi, an Asaba indigene and unarmed youth was allegedly shot dead at close range by an assailant suspected to be a police officer after removing the handcuff that was placed on him. There has also been series of reports of the State Police High Command’s bias, meddlesome, invasive and corrupt policing of Abavo, Uzere and other places where there have been crises around Delta state. The illegal arrest and detention of 19 Abavo and non-Abavo indigenes based on a phantom violence on July 13, 2012 and the recent attack on April 24, 2013 of Mr. Chukwuekwu Boi in which a Toyota Camry car was used to crush his right leg after he was beaten with dangerous objects, including Iron rods by the embattled Obi of Abavo, Hrm Uche Irenuma and his thugs strongly suggest that Delta state Police High command is acting outside the Police code of conduct. We are aware that Obi Uche Irenuma is currently involved in a disputed kingship throne at Abavo with his people whereas the information at our disposal alleged that the State Police Command has taken side and has made itself a willing tool in his hands in terrorizing the Abavo community and indigenes, the last being the bestial treatment meted to Chukwuekwu Boi on 24th April 2013.
“We opine that these acts constitute despicable, objectionable, condemnable and an unacceptable act of war declared on the future of our State and Nigeria for which we hold the State Police Command responsible. As officers of the law, we expect the officers and men of the State Police Command to operate within the ambit of law and conduct themselves in accordance with the Police code of conduct.
“Across the state of Delta, we are inundated with messages from lots of youth sacrificial lambs such as Mr. Augustine Edosomah, Ifeanyi Okoh, Warren G and others who claim they have been earmarked for elimination by the Police in connivance with a few powerful individuals who think they are above the law, for various inexcusable reasons. The list of these youth killings and police aided-attacks and plans for more killings and attacks is growing longer every passing.
“Anioma Voice Worldwide wishes to state categorically that while we support the efforts of Delta State Police Command to rid the state of criminal elements, we are however disturbed at the regularity with which the incident of extra-judicial killings are occurring in our state. We are of the opinion that suspects should be put through our justice system as enshrined in our statute books, instead of being mowed down by trigger happy Police officers who use the convenient excuse of fighting crime to commit extra-judicial killings.
“We wish to use this medium therefore to call on the Delta state Government and the Delta State Police Command to immediately put an end to these senseless and crude slaying of our young men by the police, without trial. If this request is not granted, we would have no option than to use all legal and constitutional means at our disposal to build a coalition of all Deltans against this senseless and bestial police brutality,” the statement stressed.