Police, hoodlums accused of killing undergraduate, friend
The hoodlums in action. Insert: Nwainokpo
Policemen
attached to the Badagry Police Division, Lagos State, and some hoodlums
have been accused of killing a 25-year-old undergraduate of Delta State
University, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor, and his friend, identified simply
as Kazeem.
An eight-minute video clip of the gruesome killing, which was made available to PUNCH Metro,
showed the two victims handcuffed together. They were covered in their
own blood and beaten to death with sticks. Tyres were also put round
their necks.
An irate mob could be seen in the video, shouting, “die, die, burn them, burn them.”
At some points in the video, a policeman
was seen interviewing the boys. He asked who sent them (victims) to rob
the area, an accusation they denied. 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.
Our correspondent, who visited the
family of Nwainokpor on Tuesday, learnt that the lynching took place
around 3pm on July 21, 2013 in Ajara area of Badagry, a community not
far from Nwainokpor’s family home.
His father, Samuel, told PUNCH Metro
that 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.
He added that Nwainokpor, who was nicknamed Ify, was a final year student of Geology and Mining.
He said, “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
everyday except on Sundays when he visited his friends. On that day,
he went to see Kazeem and they were strolling around Ajara.”
Samuel said because there had been a
robbery in Ajara four days earlier, some of the residents were on the
lookout for strange faces.
He added that when the youth saw two unknown young men, they accosted them and an argument ensued.
He said the youth called the head of the vigilante group in the area, one Asiribo.
He said, “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.”
Samuel said Asiribo’s death infuriated the youth, who blamed the boys for his death.
“The mob picked up sticks and beat them to death. Policemen were there,” he said.
Holding back tears, the retired
immigration officer added that the police treated the matter as a
robbery case. Beating his chest, Samuel said there was no way his son
would have been involved in armed robbery.
He said, “I have been living in Badagry
since 1982. I have only two children and Ifechukwude is the first.
Ironically, he was born in that same area where he was killed.
“I have lived in this area without any trouble and the residents can tell you that my sons are good boys.”
Nwainokpor’s boss, Aloysius Onyenibedi, described him as an honest and hardworking person.
“I trusted him to the extent that I used to keep a lot of money with him. He was good to my children and was honest,” he said.
The Nwainokpor family berated the
Divisional Police Officer, Badagry Police Station, Dankoli Mohammed,
for the manner he treated the case.
Samuel said when he approached the DPO, he was told that his son was killed at midnight for armed robbery.
He said, “When the policemen came to
take the corpses, guns were planted on them. Policemen at the station
told the DPO that they were robbers. Their corpses were taken along with
that Asiribo to Badagry General Hospital’s mortuary.
“The following morning, the DPO released
Asiribo’s corpse for burial without investigation. My relatives went to
the station and after showing the DPO the video, the matter was
transferred to the Area K Command.
“At Present, Asiribo’s son has fled,
while the DPO has been unable to identify the policemen who were present
at the scene when my son and his friend were killed.”
PUNCH Metro however learnt that
through the video, some people had arrested one of the perpetrators. The
suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation
Department, Panti, Yaba.
The spokesperson for the state police
command, Ngozi Braide, said, “The incident is quite pathetic. Even if
they were armed robbers, no one has the right to take the life of
another. Why then do we have the police and the judiciary? The Nigerian
police as well as the law condemn mob action and jungle justice. The
commissioner of police has set up a high- powered investigation body to
investigate the matter.”
