The Rivers State Police have been accused of fatally shooting a 300-level student from the University of Port Harcourt and attempting to hide the circumstances of the incident.
In an interview, the bereaved family of the deceased claimed that the police were accountable for the death of twenty-three-year-old Godwin Akpakpan, who had been missing since April 16.
Godwin, the third of seven siblings — four males and three females — was characterized by family members as “kind-hearted and vibrant.”
A devastated family member recounted, “My brother went missing last Wednesday after returning from an Arsenal match. He was a Level 300 student at Uniport, studying in the Faculty of Education.”
“The following day, Thursday, April 17, 2025, my aunt and some of his classmates attempted to reach him on his phone, but a police officer answered, instructing them to come to the State CID, Homicide Department,” the source continued, the sorrow unmistakable in their voice.
Once at the State CID station, the family said their worst apprehensions were confirmed when a police officer impassively recited a statement alleging that Godwin had been shot and killed by military personnel in a mini-bus.
They received no copy of the statement nor any formal documentation to permit them to identify his body at the morgue — only further confusion and pain.
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According to the IPO’s statement, the police claimed, “Godwin was traveling in a mini-bus heading home when a patrol unit from the Dragon Division (SARS Road PH) conducted a stop-and-search. They purportedly discovered illegal drugs, detained everyone, and were transporting them to the station when they encountered a military checkpoint in front of a hotel.”
The police went on to assert that a so-called “soldier” opened fire in an effort to free those arrested from law enforcement, “resulting in a bullet accidentally passing through the mini-bus and striking the deceased.”
However, the family’s suspicions deepened. “The police officer instructed us to come back to the station on Wednesday, but upon our return, we were forced to wait until 3:20 PM. When the officer finally arrived, he told us to return the following day, which was Thursday, April 24,” the source expressed in frustration.
“The IPO read the statement once more, and we were shown the mini-bus. We then insisted on seeing the body. Thus, we went to the UPTH mortuary where the corpse was taken by the Anti-Cultism Dragon Base Division. There, we found the body in a terrible condition, covered in dirt. We noticed two gunshot wounds to the abdomen, bruises on both hands and the forehead, and an injury to the back,” the source said, their voice trembling with grief.
After viewing the disfigured body, the family went to the Anti-Cultism Dragon Division, where the IPO had a discreet meeting with several officers before returning with three others.
The Police Public Relations Officer Grace Iringe-Koko was contacted, she asked if the case had been officially reported at a police station. Following an affirmative response with details of the police unit involved, she was yet to provide any further comments.
