The House of Representatives has declared its determination to ensure that justice is served a policeman that allegedly killed a 22 year old Ifeanyi Okafor over bribery demand.
Okafor dropped out of school and became a motor boy on the advice of his indigent parents in order to raise enough money for the completion of his education.
He however met his untimely in the early of one February morning after an encounter with a police team in a bribery incidence.
The House has however mandated its Committee on Police Affairs to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged killing by the policemen attached to Okwelle Police Station in Imo State.
While condemning all acts of extortion and harassment by policemen across the country, the House has also mandated the Committee to ensure that the family of Okafor gets justice.
This decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (PDP, Abia) , who said that for refusing to give a N500 bribe, the 22 year old was allegedly shot dead by a policeman attached to Okwelle Police Station, in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State on February 9.
She said: “He couldn’t finish school, so he was forced to drop out in year two, with the knowledge of the school authority. As a result, his father asked him to join a lorry driver to do conductor, so that from there he could save from whatever he is making to enable him go back to school.
“He was one of the three boys that followed the lorry that conveys sand and stone that day, and then around Okigwe, the lorry was stopped at the check point in the early hours of the morning around 5 am.
“At that point, the policemen demanded that they be given money before the lorry can proceed but the boys said they don’t have money that it was too early then.
“The policemen then demanded for N500 after which the driver asked the boys if any one of them had money on them, then Okafor said he had only N100 on him and as he brought it out, the next thing was the sound of a gunshot straight at the boy.
“The most pathetic of this is that this 21 year old boy is the first son of his family. A very poor family, which if you see their living condition, you won’t need anybody to tell you how pathetic their situation is.
“The husband and wife are peasant farmers, struggling to survive from day-to-day. I was there and I can confirm that their situation is truly pathetic.
“As for officer responsible, what I heard was that the matter is with the Imo Sate Police command but I don’t have the full detail and that is why I’m calling for full comprehensive investigation because this incidence happened in February and I got to know about it first week of May. If by May, the Police have not done anything, how do we know that justice will be served?
“One can only imagine the trauma the parents of the boy would be going through, the boy has not been buried, the corpse is still with the police.
“It is my believe that with the involvement of the House of Representatives, things will hasten up since the identity of the alleged killer is not in question.
“There have been several reports of violation of this all important Right by security agents in Nigeria, especially the Nigeria Police Force and there have been cases of extra-judicial killings by security agencies were on the rise across the country.
“There was public outcry against similar extra-judicial killings by men of the Police Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) across the country and this has eroded the confidence of Nigerians in the Nigeria Police Force, with a direct adverse effect on the cooperation between the Police and the public to combat crime.”
The motion was unanimously adopted after a voice vote.
