A right group, Human Right Defenders (HURIDE), has alleged incessant harassment, intimidation and extortion of residents of Ebonyi State by officers and men of the state police command.
Its Chairman, Oko Sampson Nweke in a statement obtained by Daily Sun, HURIDE expressed worry over the current wave of police brutality in Abakaliki metropolis which it described as alarming.
According to the statement, almost on daily basis, their office receives different reports on cases of various human rights violations on the side of police operatives against innocent and unsuspecting citizens in the state.
Nweke noted that the reports range from harassments, torture, forceful transfer of money, arbitrary detention and many other abuses.
“In Abakaliki of today, people no longer sleep with two eyes closed for fear of the police. Freedom of movement and of peaceful gathering have somewhat become a crime overnight in the once fun-filled Abakaliki.
“Just few days ago, a young man simply identified as Evans, lost his life while being chased by the police in Abakaliki. The 23-year-old boy was a 300 Level student of Ebonyi State University (EBSU). It was reported that what led to his painful death was because the police officers saw him driving a clean Lexus 330 around Hausa Quarters and started chasing him.
“The late Evans, on sighting the police, sensed danger and made to run away. While they gave him a hot chase, Evans lost control of the steering and his vehicle somersaulted and he died.
“Also, some days ago, a man from Ohaukwu LGA reported a similar unfortunate incidence. He narrated that a team of policemen, in his words, “kidnapped” his pastor’s son with eight other young men. Some of them are students of EBSU while some are business men.
“He said that the police drove them to their office and forced them to transfer all the money in their accounts, ranging from ₦30,000 from the poor student and 10million from others. The victims were dropped off the next day after it was confirmed that the monies had been cashed.
“Terrible things are happening in Ebonyi State. Normal social gathering are now being avoided in Abakaliki for fear of unwarranted police invasion. Young men with good looks, good phones and good cars are the basic prey of the police operatives.
“Some of these victims have lost their lives, while many have been forcefully dispossessed of their life savings while many others are languishing in different police cells and even prisons for no known crime,”the group stated.
HURIDE called for total and immediate stop to the increasing cases of unwholesome police activities in Abakaliki.
The group submitted: “We are asking the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ogbodo to discreetly look into the activities of her men on the streets of Abakaliki.”
