Civil defence officers allegedly kill family's only child in Imo state (tension)

26-year-old Okechuku Izuchukwu Iwuchukwu, a tricycle
(keke) operator, allegedly died in the hands of some men of
the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in
Orji, Imo state.
Okey, as he was popularly called, was the only child of his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sunday Iwuchukwu.
Okey's wife, Mrs. Obianuju Iwuchukwu, is expecting the
couple’s first child.
Traditional ruler of the community and the Acting
Commandant General, Imo State Peace Advocate Corps,
Hon. Peter C. Ohagwa were sent by the state governor,
Chief Rochas Okorocha, to plead with the people to of the
town to maintain peace. Their pleas calmed the people of
the community and averted a reprisal.
According to eyewitnesses, Okechukwu, who recently
returned from Pakistan where he went in search of greener
pastures before going into the keke transport business, was
allegedly returning from work when he saw some group of
people lying on the ground, so he thought some robbers
were operating in the area.
He turned round to escape, but two officers of the NSCDC
who were operating an illegal checkpoint in the area
reportedly opened fire on him, killing him instantly.
In a petition sent to the Imo State Police Commissioner
through their lawyer, Mr. Williams N. Opara of Osuoha,
Opara & Co., Ahuruole-Florence Chambers, Owerri, the
family expressed shock that the killers of their only child
branded the deceased an armed robber who had a shoot-
out with them.
The petition partly reads:
“It is our brief that our client’s only child was
gruesomely murdered by Inspector Ekere Harrison
Ifeanyi and Sergeant Ojoko Paul, who are men of the
Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps attached
to its headquarters in Owerri on Saturday, the 25th
day of July, 2015 at about 11.00pm when he was
riding home on his way back from work at Old ELF
Petrol Station situate along Umundula, Owaelu,
Owalla Road, Off Orji Junction.
“Sir, it is our further briefing that it took these men
of the Civil Defence Corps a period of five hours
between 11.00pm to 4.00am to lodge a false report
of a shoot-out with “armed robbers” at the
Divisional Police Station, Orji which is a distance of
less than one kilometre from the scene of the
incident. And within the period, we are briefed, these
men from the Civil Defence Corps were able to get
an old and unused gun, one expended bullet and one
live bullet which they planted on the body of our
client’s son in order to brand him as “an armed
robber” in order to justify their cruel and extra
judicial killing of our client’s son.
“Sir, it is our brief that there was no report of any
robbery and or armed robbery incident in the
neighbourhood and or vicinity on the day our
client’s son was killed. It is also our briefing that
people were still carrying on with their various
businesses around the scene and around the
junction area.”
The petition stressed that the victim once rode a keke on
hire purchase basis for somebody, which he eventually
inherited and sold to a Civil Defence officer before the one
in which he was killed was bought for him by his father.
The family called on the state police boss to use his good
office to investigate the death of their son and bring the
culprits to book.
One of the natives of Owaelu, who pleaded
anonymity, said that the murder of Okechukwu was a big
blow to the community, and that the traditional ruler even
cried for the young man and his family.
He said:
“Okey is such a quiet boy who is loved by all. In
fact, this is darkness for this family. Most annoying
is branding this boy an armed robber, but they have
failed in that because it happened where people
were. It took these officers four hours to report the
matter at the Orji police station. They used this
period of interlude to organise an obsolete locally
made gun and claimed they found it in his keke.
When it became clear to them that the incident took
place near living homes and that people saw what
happened, they went to Governor Rochas Okorocha
to intervene and plead with the family.
“In fact, it was when the senior police officer saw
the gun that he got angry and sent his men to go
and arrest the guys, and we are happy that they
have been arrested and detained. So we plead with
the President, Attorney General of the Federation,
Imo State Governor, Imo State Chief Judge,
Commissioner for Justice and all the authorities
concerned to give us justice. His father has been
down with stroke and his pregnant wife can no
longer cope as he is the only son and the bread
winner of the family.”
Father of the deceased, who is in his late 60s said:
“I am finished. My son is very responsible and does
not look for problem. He hardly talks. He had before
now travelled to Pakistan for greener pastures but it
did not work out and he returned home. And instead
of staying idle before any other trip could be
arranged for him, he began this keke thing. You can
see I have been down with stroke and he is the one
taking care of all of us.
“The first keke he used was on hire purchase. He
completed the money and it became his. But when
the engine started to gulp oil, he dropped it and I
bought him this one. He then sold that one to a Civil
Defence officer and he has not even paid him for it.
“That night we were waiting for him to return. When
the time passed, we called his number severally and
it was not going. We all became worried and in the
morning somebody called his wife and told him to
come to the police station, that she should come
with one of our brothers who they said was the last
person he called. When they got to the police and
seeing the condition of the wife, they asked them to
go, pretending he was in the cell. They later called
the man out and told him that he was in the
hospital.
“When the young man came back and reported the
matter, he went with some people to see him in the
hospital as the police did not tell them he was dead.
They went with the police to Aladinma Hospital and
they moved round the whole ward and could not see
him. After a long time, they now asked the nurses
and it was the nurses that led them to the mortuary
where they deposited him. He was brought there
dead and taken straight to the mortuary.
“Why would people be this wicked? What shall I do
now? I want the government to bring those that
killed my son to book. I want justice for my son.
This is too much for us to bear. Look at his
pregnant wife. Why? Why?”
However, when the State Police Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a deputy superintendent of the police
(DSP) was contacted, he said the command got a report
from the NSCDC of an encounter their officers had with
armed robbers who engaged them in a shoot-out. That one
of the robbers was gunned down.
Enwerem, who said he did not even know the name of the

deceased, however said the NSCDC, as a security agency,
would be in the best position to give details of what
happened.
When asked about the alleged arrest of the NSCDC men, he
said:
“I am not investigating. If there is any arrest made, I
have not been informed.”
Hon. Ohagwa of the State Peace Advocate Corps, also said:
“You know our Governor Rochas Okorocha, anything
that touches the people touches him. So when he
got the report of this incident, he sent us to console
the people and appeal to them to be calm. By God’s
grace, we have stopped them from engaging in a
reprisal. I know that the government will see that
the matter is handled the way justice would be seen
to have been done.”

Posted by Donatus Joshua at 02:13