LAGOS MARCH 25TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Pandemonium broke out last week at Oleh, the headquarters of the Isoko South local government area of Delta state, following the murder of an engine oil seller by men attached to the Oleh police station for allegedly resisting arrest.
Mr. Ogaga Obiebi is the name of the victim, which our correspondent learned. It was on that fateful day when Ogaga Obiebi was confronted by men of the Nigerian police at his business premises along Emore road, in Oleh and, he was asked to follow the team to the police station for a then yet to be disclosed offence.
According to eyes witnesses, after several attempts to force Ogaga Obiebi into the waiting Hilux police van, that he ran back into the house, and brought out a machete. He then started chasing the policemen, and in the process, he was allegedly shot in the head by one of the policemen, whose name was simply given as, Azubuike.
It was gathered that as soon the police shot the victim, the police, immediately called in soldiers patrolling the area. This was to avoid any form of a mob reprisal attack on them, and they were soon whisked away by the soldiers to the local station.
A similar incident was averted two weeks ago, when the same “killer squad” from the police station stormed a nearby Emede community to make an arrest. That resulted in the shooting of teenaged boy in the chest, but the bullet, luckily, did not penetrate. This was a result of a local charm worn by the boy, that blocked the bullet, and probably saved the child’s life.
A prominent community leader, who spoke with SaharaReporters on the condition that we would not publish his name, described the act as “dastardly.” He said that has been the practice of the police in the locality, cutting short the lives of innocent young men.
“It is a very condemnable act. The most painful aspect of it all is that the police always go scot-free after the act. No matter how grievous of an offence, the police, or any security agency do not have the right to kill anybody,” he said.
“I am using this medium to call on the Inspector General of Police who has always preached against indiscipline, and extra-judicial killings in the force, as a matter of urgency and importance,” the prominent community leader said.
He added that he would like to urge police officials to (“set-up) a panel of a crack team to investigate this matter, and bring all those involved to book. This matter must not be swept under the carpet like every other past ones.”
A cross section of indigenes have also rose up to condemn the extra-judicial killing, describing it as “barbaric,” and they called on the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area, SP Lawrence Ogoegbulem, to immediate fish out the policeman who committed the murder, and be made to face the law.
The indigenes vowed that any attempt by the DPO to protect the killer policeman would be resisted, with a mass protest, which may lead to a break down of law and order in the area. They further accused the DPO of always “shading his men from facing the law” in a situation such as this, and in other corrupt practices they are well known for in the area.
Several calls and text messages put to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), SP Lawrence Ogoegbulem’s mobile line, as well as the line of the state police public relations officer, DSP Celestine Kalu were ignored.
At the time of this report, tensions have grown in the area, even anger, all of this following the killing of the oil seller.
Source: Saharareporters