Tina Amanda
Some indigenes of the Northern Community in Rivers State have staged a protest at the state judiciary Complex Port Harcourt to demand the release of five corpses allegedly murdered by men of the Nigeria Police Force.
The protesters also called for the release of goods and cash worth about nine hundred million naira allegedly taken by the Police.
According to them, some Police officers were reported to have on the 23rd of August, 2022 invaded an abattoir being operated by indigenes of the Northern Community Elelenwo area in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The officers were alleged to have shot sporadically killing five people, injuring two, and destroying goods.
They further explained that a week later, 15 members of the Northern Community reportedly arrested at the abattoir by the police, were arraigned and remanded in Port Harcourt Correctional Center.
They were later released on bail after spending some days in prison.
Our correspondent reports that soon after the matter which was slated for hearing was adjourned for the Ill-health of the presiding Chief Magistrate, Ejike George, members of the Northern Community who were in court in solidarity staged a protest to express their grievance.
The leader of the Northern Community in Rivers State, Alhaji Musa Saidu, who addressed newsmen, said they are surprised that the matter in which they petitioned the Inspector General of Police to direct an investigation, was bluffed by the Police.
According to Saidu, after the IGP asked the State Commissioner of Police to direct the State Criminal Investigation Department to carry out any investigation, the police officer attached to the Rivers State government house brought their members to court without any investigation
He said, “We are in court today because the right of our people has been abridged, in the sense that on 23 August 2022, some Policemen led by the Commandant of Government House by the name Iretife London went to Elelenwo cattle market opened fire and killed five persons went away with their bodies and shot two people that sustained serious fractures.
“The two wounded person Police refused to give us a referral letter to the hospital until we contacted SS Director who gave the order to Rivers State University Teaching Hospital to admit them. We then went to seek the Commissioner of Police Rivers State, who invited Iretife London in the presence of us and asked him why he opened fire on us.
“We have written a petition to the Commissioner of Police, copied the Inspector General of Police, copied the Chief of Staff to the president. After one week we held our meeting and I traveled to Abuja because IG had asked me to come because of the matter.
“While I was in Abuja the same Camp Commandant Government House went back there opened fire again and arrested fifteen of our members, took them to SOS detained them for three days from there he brought them to this court, and was later taken to prison and we later seek their bail.
“Why we are here because justice is not done to my people, in the first operation the police took five hundred million in cash because that is where they sell cow market, in the second operation they took four hundred million which is about nine hundred million and five corpses of our members are missing. The two-person that survived paid about nine hundred thousand to extract bullets from their bodies.
Alhaji Saidu, however, called for a speedy hearing of the suit and the recovery of dead bodies of their members who were allegedly shot dead as well as the cash and other properties taken away by the Police.
“We are here to seek justice and we have seen that this is a murder case, so we are demanding the dead bodies that we have not seen, we are demanding the nine hundred million that was stolen by the police and we are demanding the prosecution of the Police because the matter was at state CID nobody was called, we were not called till today to notify us of the situation of things.
“If Police have called us to tell us about the position of the matter it is a different thing, we were not called by anybody. No one has been arrested or detained based on the petition that the Commissioner of Police has assigned to the DC State CID to act or treat”.
