admin
The Rivers State Police Command has detained one of its operatives for shooting and killing a father of six, Bright Egbule, at Omagwa community in the Ikwerre local government area of the state.
Youths of the Omagwa community, who were protesting the killing of Egbule in the early hours of Sunday, blocked the Port Harcourt-Owerri Road with the corpse of the deceased.
It was gathered that they were prevented from dumping the corpse of the deceased at the Omagwa Police Station.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a short message service (SMS) sent to journalists, said the corpse of the victim has been deposited at the morgue while normalcy has returned to the community.
Iringe-Koko said: “The command is aware, and the CP (Commissioner of Police) is on top of the situation. Normalcy has now been restored, and adequate security is present on the ground to prevent any breach of peace.
“The corpse has been deposited at the morgue while the police officer has been detained while the investigation is ongoing, please.”
It was learnt that the deceased was at home with his wife on Saturday night when the policemen stormed the compound, as one of the trigger-happy operatives opened fire on him.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said, “The officers came here last night with full force. They said they were looking for a drug dealer, but they came into the compound here and killed an innocent man.
“It was on that note that the community mobilized and blocked the federal road with the corpse. We want the police to provide those officers who killed Chukwuma. All we need is justice for Chukwuma.”
The protest, however, caused gridlock on the road as motorists and travelers were stranded until the intervention of the local government chairman.
Addressing the protesters, the Chairman of Ikweree, LGA, Abosi, described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable and appealed to the angry youths not to take laws into their own hands.
Abosi, however, called on the Commissioner of Police to investigate the killing and ensure that the officers are fished out and made to face justice.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the policeman had been arrested.
While commiserating with the family of the deceased, she said his remains had been deposited in a morgue
Iringe-Koko said, “The command is aware, and we are on top of the situation. The officer has been detained. Normalcy has now been restored, and adequate security is on the ground to prevent any breach of peace.
“The man’s corpse has been deposited at the morgue and an investigation is ongoing.
