Tension Mount In Imo Community As Civil Defence Officers Allegedly Kills Family ’ s Only Child

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26-year-old Okechuku Izuchukwu Iwuchukwu, a
tricycle (keke) operator, allegedly died in the hands of
some men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC) in Orji, Imo state.

Okey, as he was popularly called, was the only child of
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sunday Iwuchukwu.
Okey’s wife, Mrs. Obianuju Iwuchukwu, is expecting
the couple’s first child.

Traditional ruler of the community and the Acting
Commandant General, Imo State Peace Advocate
Corps, Hon. Peter C. Ohagwa were sent by the state
governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, to plead with the
people to of the town to maintain peace. Their pleas
calmed the people of the community and averted a
reprisal.

According to eyewitnesses, Okechukwu, who recently
returned from Pakistan where he went in search of
greener pastures before going into the keke transport
business, was allegedly returning from work when
he saw some group of people lying on the ground, so he
thought some robbers were operating in the area.
He turned round to escape, but two officers of the
NSCDC who were operating an illegal checkpoint in
the area reportedly opened fire on him, killing him
instantly.

In a petition sent to the Imo State Police Commissioner
through their lawyer, Mr. Williams N. Opara of
Osuoha, Opara & Co., Ahuruole-Florence Chambers,
Owerri, the family expressed shock that the killers
of their only child branded the deceased an armed robber
who had a shoot-out with them.


The petition partly reads:
“It is our brief that our client’s only child was
gruesomely murdered by Inspector Ekere
Harrison Ifeanyi and Sergeant Ojoko Paul, who
are men of the Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps attached to its headquarters in
Owerri on Saturday, the 25th day of July, 2015
at about 11.00pm when he was riding home
on his way back from work at Old ELF Petrol
Station situate along Umundula, Owaelu,

Owalla Road, Off Orji Junction.
“Sir, it is our further briefing that it took these
men of the Civil Defence Corps a period of five
hours between 11.00pm to 4.00am to lodge a
false report of a shoot-out with “armed
robbers” at the Divisional Police Station, Orji
which is a distance of less than one kilometre
from the scene of the incident. And within the
period, we are briefed, these men from the
Civil Defence Corps were able to get an old
and unused gun, one expended bullet and one
live bullet which they planted on the body of
our client’s son in order to brand him as “an
armed robber” in order to justify their cruel
and extra judicial killing of our client’s son.

“Sir, it is our brief that there was no report of
any robbery and or armed robbery incident in
the neighbourhood and or vicinity on the day
our client’s son was killed. It is also our
briefing that people were still carrying on with
their various businesses around the scene and
around the junction area.”

The petition stressed that the victim once rode a keke on
hire purchase basis for somebody, which he eventually
inherited and sold to a Civil Defence officer before the
one in which he was killed was bought for him by his
father.

The family called on the state police boss to use his good
office to investigate the death of their son and bring the
culprits to book.

One of the natives of Owaelu, who pleaded
anonymity, said that the murder of Okechukwu was a
big blow to the community, and that the traditional ruler
even cried for the young man and his family.
He said:


“Okey is such a quiet boy who is loved by all.
In fact, this is darkness for this family. Most
annoying is branding this boy an armed robber,
but they have failed in that because it
happened where people were. It took these
officers four hours to report the matter at the
Orji police station. They used this period of
interlude to organise an obsolete locally made
gun and claimed they found it in his keke.

When it became clear to them that the
incident took place near living homes and that
people saw what happened, they went to
Governor Rochas Okorocha to intervene and
plead with the family.

“In fact, it was when the senior police officer
saw the gun that he got angry and sent his
men to go and arrest the guys, and we are
happy that they have been arrested and
detained. So we plead with the President,
Attorney General of the Federation, Imo State
Governor, Imo State Chief Judge,
Commissioner for Justice and all the
authorities concerned to give us justice. His
father has been down with stroke and his
pregnant wife can no longer cope as he is the
only son and the bread winner of the family.”
Father of the deceased, who is in his late 60s said:

“I am finished. My son is very responsible and
does not look for problem. He hardly talks. He
had before now travelled to Pakistan for
greener pastures but it did not work out and he
returned home. And instead of staying idle
before any other trip could be arranged for
him, he began this keke thing. You can see I
have been down with stroke and he is the one
taking care of all of us.

“The first keke he used was on hire purchase.
He completed the money and it became his.
But when the engine started to gulp oil, he
dropped it and I bought him this one. He then
sold that one to a Civil Defence officer and he
has not even paid him for it.

“That night we were waiting for him to return.
When the time passed, we called his number
severally and it was not going. We all became
worried and in the morning somebody called
his wife and told him to come to the police
station, that she should come with one of our
brothers who they said was the last person he
called. When they got to the police and seeing
the condition of the wife, they asked them to
go, pretending he was in the cell. They later
called the man out and told him that he was in
the hospital.

“When the young man came back and reported
the matter, he went with some people to see
him in the hospital as the police did not tell
them he was dead. They went with the police
to Aladinma Hospital and they moved round
the whole ward and could not see him. After a
long time, they now asked the nurses and it
was the nurses that led them to the mortuary
where they deposited him. He was brought
there dead and taken straight to the mortuary.

“Why would people be this wicked? What shall
I do now? I want the government to bring
those that killed my son to book. I want
justice for my son. This is too much for us to
bear. Look at his pregnant wife. Why? Why?”



However, when the State Police Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a deputy
superintendent of the police (DSP) was contacted, he
said the command got a report from the NSCDC of an
encounter their officers had with armed robbers who
engaged them in a shoot-out. That one of the robbers
was gunned down.

Enwerem, who said he did not even know the name of
the deceased, however said the NSCDC, as a security
agency, would be in the best position to give details of
what happened.
When asked about the alleged arrest of the NSCDC
men, he said:
“I am not investigating. If there is any arrest
made, I have not been informed.”

Hon. Ohagwa of the State Peace Advocate Corps, also
said:

“You know our Governor Rochas Okorocha,
anything that touches the people touches him.
So when he got the report of this incident, he
sent us to console the people and appeal to
them to be calm. By God’s grace, we have
stopped them from engaging in a reprisal. I
know that the government will see that the
matter is handled the way justice would be
seen to have been done.”
Source: Daily Trust

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