#Aluu4: We didn’t torture suspect to obtain statement – Police

by Akan Ido

One of the twelve accused persons suspected to have taken part in the killing of four students of the University of Port Harrcourt at Aluu in 2012 has accused the police of extracting a confession from him under duress.

The Rivers Police Command through a chief superintendent of police, Henry Njoku, have denied this weighty allegations saying the first accused, Lawal Segun, made two confessional statements without torture or any application of force.

He explained that Segun made the statements when he was arrested in October 2012 and the second after watching the video clip of the murder in Aluu Village.

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Segun, during questioning, insisted that the police beat him and threatened to shoot him if he refused to sign the statement.

The first accused person, who was led in evidence by his counsel, Kehinde, said the police tortured and injured him.

Segun told the court under cross-examination by the solicitor-general of the state, Rufus Godwins, that the injuries were on his head and back. He had attempted to remove his shirt to prove his point, but was restrained. He then revealed that he was given tablets of panadol at the Port Harcourt Prison clinic for his pain, but pointed out that he was not treated by a doctor.

Segun said he could not complain about the torture to any police officer because nobody could have listened to him, considering the weight of the allegations against him.

The trial took a twist when Segun insisted that “all facts in my statement are correct.”