Police Officer Kills Undergraduate Because Of N1, 000

A student of Delta State Polytechnic, Sofia
Ogogo, and a civil servant, Victor Emeagwai,
were both shot dead by a policeman
attached to the Igbuzo Police Division,
identified as Sergeant Abuja, at a checkpoint
in the community.
The victims were in a Toyota Corolla, driven
by an estate agent, Jerry Akinlabi, when the
incident happened. Ogogo and Emeagwai
are Akinlabi’s girlfriend and friend
respectively.
PUNCH Metro learnt that a team of five
policemen, including Abua, had flagged
down Ogogo at a checkpoint along Igbuzo
Market.
One of the policemen, identified as
Nwokolo, was said to have demanded
money from Akinlabi and the driver told
him that he did not have N200 to give him.
Nwokolo reportedly said he would take one
of the N1,000 notes Jerry had on him.
As Akinlabi drove off from the checkpoint,
Abua reportedly shot at the car and bullets
pierced the back of the vehicle, hitting
Ogogo, who sat at the back seat.
The bullet also grazed the back of
Emeagwai, who was at the passenger’s seat.
Akinlabi told our correspondent that four
cops, including the team leader, one ASP
Akhabue, were detained by the police, while
Abua evaded arrest.
He said, “On Sunday, November 17, 2017, I
was driving to the Igbuzor Market and on
getting to a checkpoint, I met the policemen.
We knew one another some months ago
when I had an issue concerning a property
at the station. I sounded the horn to greet
them, but they did not respond.
“One of them used his gun to hit the boot
and I reversed. He said I wanted to beat the
checkpoint. I told him that I assumed that
they knew me very well and apologised. He
demanded money. I wanted to give him
N100 or N200, but it was N1,000 notes I had
on me and I explained to him.
“He said, ‘Am I too small to collect N1,000?’
When I declined to give him N1,000, he
asked me to pull over, which I did. As the
argument over N1,000 got heated, I entered
my car and drove off. What I heard next
was three gunshots aimed at my car.
“A bullet pierced into the car, hit my
girlfriend’s body, came out and hit my
friend in the back.”

The 22-year-old indigene of Oyo State said
he took the victims to a general hospital in
Igbuzo, from where Ogogo was referred to
the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
He said he called a senior police officer at
Asaba who notified the state Commissioner
of Police of the incident.
He said, “The CP and the DPO of the Igbozo
Police Station came to the FMC and
deposited N100,000, but I have spent much
more than that. Meanwhile, the policeman
who shot at us had gone to drop the gun at
the station and fled. The other four
policemen were detained at the command
headquarters. My friend and I wrote our
statements there.”
Akinlabi explained that a police officer
asked him to drop his car key to aid
investigation. He added that he handed over
the car key, but activated the steering lock
because he suspected foul play.
He said he met with the Assistant Inspector-
General of Police, Zone 5, Benin, Edo State,
who assigned a policeman to take his
statement, adding that the policeman came
down to the police command, Asaba, the
following day.
“As I was returning from Zone 5 on
Monday, I received a call from the
Investigating Police Officer at the police
headquarters in Asaba and he asked for the
steering key. The IPO and a policeman came
down to the hospital and I told them I would
have to look for the key when I got home.
“The policeman sent from Zone 5 invited my
friend to the police headquarters in Asaba
to write his statement too. When he got
there, he saw some policemen moving the
car. He called to ask me if I gave them the
key to unlock the steering and I said no.
When I called the IPO, he confirmed what
my friend said and he told me that there
was no cause for alarm.”
He said the command returned his car
washed, with the bullet holes on the vehicle
covered and painted, lamenting that he had
not heard from the command and zone 5.
Akinlabi’s girlfriend, Ogogo, who spoke to
PUNCH Metro from the hospital, said she
was on the telephone when the bullet hit
her.
“That was the last thing I remembered until
I found myself at the hospital,” she added.
Emeagwai urged the police authorities not
to sweep the case under the carpet, saying
the policemen must be punished.
He said, “I don’t see any reason for the
shooting. I have been going to the FMC to
treat the gunshot injury for about three
weeks now. The policemen should not go
scot-free.”
Harrison Gwamnishu, the Coordinator of
Behind Bars, a rights group, which Akinlabi
contacted on the matter, said the group
would institute a legal action against the
police.
He said, “We want to charge the case to
court as a civil matter. It is barbaric. Why
did the police wash the bloodstains in the
car and covered the bullet holes without the
consent of the owner?”
The Delta State Police Public Relations
Officer, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, said the
policemen would be brought to book if
found culpable after investigation.
He said, “The case is being investigated.
However, our utmost concern is that the
injured victim gets proper treatment. The
Area Commander and the DPO of the
division in question are involved in the
matter.
“The case is being investigated by Zone 5.
Where somebody is absent from duty for 21
days without any reason, we declare such a
person a deserter. So, there is no anxiety
that the policeman is on the run. Rest
assured that the right thing will be done.”

Source : ( Punch Newspaper )