Eight Policemen Dismiss over Killing of DELSU Student DELSU STUDENTKILLING LAGOS 28TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Eight policemen have been dismissed for watching while an angry mob killed a final year student of Geology and Mining of the Delta State University and his friend at the Ajara area of Badagry, Lagos State in 2013. The eight policemen were attached to the Lagos State Police Command and were charged with negligence of duty and found guilty by the police top hierarchy after a trial that lasted almost two years. There were actually nine policemen that were indicted for the crime, but one of the policemen, an Inspector, known as a pastor among his colleague, was allowed to go. In July 21, 2013 around 3pm, an undergraduate of the Delta State University, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor, 25, and his friend, Kazeem, were killed by an angry mob, while some policemen who witnessed the incident turned blind eyes. The policemen, attached to the Badagry Police Station, later carried the corpses to their station, planted guns on them and told their Divisional Police Officer, Dankoli Mohammed, that the boys were slain robbers. Unfortunately for the policemen, someone among the crowd videoed the incident. The chilling video ran for eight minutes. The clip showed that the two victims were handcuffed, with tyres hung around their necks, while members of the mob hit them with stick from different angles. Some people in the crowd were yelling: Burn them! Kill them! The video also captured a policeman interrogating the boys. According to the Punch newspaper, the policeman asked the boys who sent them to rob in the area, but the victims denied being robbers. The Punch reported: “One of the hoodlums, holding a sharp object attempted to cut off the private part of one of the victims. Nwainokpor could be seen pleading with the hoodlums and policemen to spare his life, saying he could identify himself if given a chance. His plea, however, fell on deaf ears.” Nwainokpor’s father, Samuel, said his son was arrested while passing through a street in the area but a misunderstanding later ensued and the hoodlums pounced on him and Kazeem. Samuel told Punch newspaper: “On that particular day, I was in Ghana when I received a telephone call that I should come immediately. My wife was in Delta State taking care of her mother. When I arrived two days later, my relatives and the caretaker of my house told me that my son was killed in the Ajara area along with his friend. I was devastated. I got my son a temporary job with a Customs licensed agent since their lecturers were on strike. He worked every day except on Sundays when he visited his friends. On that day, he went to see Kazeem and they were strolling around Ajara. There had been a robbery in Ajara four days earlier; some of the residents were on the lookout for strange faces. When the youths in the area saw two unknown young men, they accosted them and an argument ensued. The youth called the head of the vigilante group in the area, one Asiribo. “Asiribo came to the scene with a locally-made pistol and handcuffs. He handcuffed my son and his friend before asking them questions. Later, it was decided that the boys be taken to the Baale, Agano Oniyon of Agamade Ajara. But as they were going, Asiribo, while trying to return his gun into its pouch, mistakenly shot himself in the stomach and died. Asiribo’s death infuriated the youths, who blamed the boys for his death. The mob picked up sticks and beat them to death. Policemen were there.” Speaking the dismissal of the policemen, a police source said: “They were nine policemen that were held. But eight were dismissed. There is an Inspector, who is a pastor, among the nine. He was the last person to come to the scene on that fateful day. He tried to save the boys from the mob, but failed. The trial took long because the accused policemen had to go to provost; the file was forwarded to the Commissioner of Police. The CP would have to review the case and forward the case file to the Inspector General of Police. It usually takes time. There were three inspectors, three sergeants and one corporal. I don’t know the rank of the last policeman.”
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:04:00 +0000
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