IZUNNA OKAFOR
Anambra State Police Command has denied the allegation that his personnel tortured a man to death and labelled him an armed robber.
The social media was awash with videos and voice notes alleging that Police officers attached to the B-Division Divisional Headquarters, Awka, Anambra State Police Command, had manhandled an innocent man to death and accused him of robbing over an undisclosed issue.
However, reacting to the allegation in a statement issued to newsmen in Awka on Sunday, the spokesperson of the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, debunked the information as untrue and handiwork of mischief makers to tarnish the image of the Police, and incite the public against the Police, thereby causing disharmony in the state.
According to him, the deceased, identified as Chibuike Christian Okafor (popularly known as Jokef), was rescued from the hands of a mob which apprehended him along Secretariat Road, Awka, with a locally-made gun and were about to lynch him before the Police arrived the area and rescued him after having received a distress call at about 10:30pm on Tuesday last week.
While noting that the Police also recovered one expanded cartridge the suspect allegedly used to rob his victims; DSP Ikenga also revealed that the suspect eventually collapsed after he was rescued by the Police and was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was later confirmed dead by a Medical doctor.
“Meanwhile, the Investigation is still ongoing as the Command is still studying the video footage of the mob action to identify the persons behind this act,” Ikenga said.
The PPRO also noted that the Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng, has reiterated the campaign against mob action and encouraged the public to take suspects to police stations whenever they are apprehended, as that will help the police to conduct proper investigations into the activities of the suspects and bring them to justice under extant laws.
“Henceforth, the Command shall invoke relevant sections of the cybercrime act against any happy trigger writer/ social media influencer whose aim is to publish falsehood and cause disharmony in the State,” he warned.