Row Over Killing of Four Men By Police

Controversy over the killing of four young men at Isiala Ngwa Junction along Enugu-Umuhaia-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway by the Police Monday afternoon has deepened. While the police is claiming that the dead men who were driving in a Mitsubishi Pajero jeep with registration number AJ 501 EZA were armed robbers, a relation of the deceased, Chimaobi Michael Onuegbu, has denied the claim, insisting that his brothers were murdered in cold blood by the police. The corpses of the slain men were displayed at the Bende Road Police Headquarters Monday afternoon, with the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ali Okechukwu, explaining that they were killed by mobile policemen on road block at Isiala-Ngwa Junction after they had allegedly shot at The PPRO denied the claim that one of the slain men was a police officer. Okechukwu said the occupants of the jeep refused to stop to disclose their identity when flagged down, but allegedly put on their head lamps to frighten the police and opened fire on them (police). He said the police returned fire, killing all the four occupants of the jeep on the spot. He also claimed that police recovered such items like AK 47 rifle with inscription of Central Police Station (CPS), Umuahia, spent bullet shell, handsets; adding that police would carry out further investigations to unravel reasons behind the attack. But Chimaobi, an Umuahia-based hotelier, told newsmen in Umuahia Tuesday morning that police was cooking up stories. He vehemently denied that the dead men were armed robbers, insisting that what took place was extra-judicial killing. Chimaobi, the proprietor of the popular Benny Aris Hotel in Umuahia, said the dead people included a police officer, Edo State-born Eki Imade, who was attached to his hotel; a panel beater ,a mechanic and the driver who he said were wasted by police around 3.30 p.m. He said the deceased were going in his jeep to Aba when the incident happened, addinng that the vehicle was undergoing major repair works after an accident along Aba-Port Harcourt expressway. Chimaobi alleged that mobile policemen attached to MOPOL 55 Base at Nsulu games village were the police that killed his relatives, who he added, were carrying the sum of N100,000 on them for repairing the car in Aba. He recalled that one of the dead, Chibueze Ibezim, an only son of his mother, was a known mechanic along Bende Road very close to the state police headquarters. He said Ibezim was well known by policemen and wondered how the police could have killed a man they knew very well Chimaobi, therefore, called on Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ogbonnaya Onovo, to look into the matter to unravel the truth of the matter.