by Isi Esene
Students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) yesterday staged a street protest over the alleged shooting of Momodu Ibrahim, a 500 level student of the Faculty of Laboratory Science.
According to reports, Ibrahim was said to have been killed by a Divisional Police Officer, Carol Afegbua in charge of Ogida Police station.
Read the Nation Newspapers report below:
Late Momodu who was the only male child of his parents was said to have been shot a stone throw from his family house located at No 1, Igbobawaye Street off Siluko road by Textile mill junction.
Addressing newsmen at the Nigeria Union of Journalists,(NUJ), secretariat, the immediate sister of the deceased, Ebohon Rebecca Egbe while calling for Justice gave an account of how the life of his brother was cut shot by the bullet of the Divisional Police Officer in-charge of Ogida.
“I was in my office in Port-Harcourt when I received a call from Benin from a cousin of mine who is a Police officer that I should take heart that we lost Ibrahim my younger brother. I called my mother and she said they have been looking for him in last two days, normally it is after 48 hours that you report such thing to the Police.
So, she went to the Police on Wednesday, 29th May 2013, only to be told that he has been killed by Carol Afegbua, the DPO of Ogida Police station and was buried the next day without the family knowing. His cell-phone which was with the Police rang all through as we are trying to locate his whereabouts until the Police finally picked the call and asked my mother to come to the police station.
When the DPO was confronted and asked why his men shot my brother she explained they didn’t know his identity because his men asked him to stop and he refused. She also alleged that he was carrying a gun and wanted to shoot at his men on patrol before his men shoot at him in self defense.”
The family according to the sister of the slain student was informed that the body of late Momodu had been buried at a public Cemetery in Egor local Government Area of the State.
Several calls by our correspondent to the Commissioner of Police, Folusho Adebanjo, and the Police Public Relation officer, ASP Charles Eguavoen, were unanswered at the time of filing this report.
Wonderful country! Wonderful police force that have no respect for lives. Am very sure the defence of the DPO that the guy was armed was an afterthought to clear their culpability.