From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
The family of late Samuel Chinedu Ukwu, a maritime cargo haulage driver killed by the policemen in Abia State pleading with the state and federal governments, not to sweep issues relating to his murder under the carpet. But rather to carry out thorough investigation into matter to fish out the culprits and deal with them according to the law.
It also called for assistance to help sustain those he left behind, including his wife, five children and a retinue of other relations.
Chinedu, 62, from Ikpeziuno Arondizuogu, Ideato North Local Government Area in Imo State but resident in Aba, was on August 14 allegedly shot dead by police operatives at the Asa Nnentu motor spares market, Alaoji Ugwunagbo, in a bizarre incident that shocked those around and beyond.
He had the previous day, August 13, moved members of his family into a new bungalow he built, along St Paul’s Road, telling his wife that he was traveling to Umuahia, to deliver goods and would return the following day to complete the movement of their remaining property from the rented apartment they had lived in into their new home.
Unfortunately, the dream of sleeping in the new house didn’t materialize. According to his wife, Mrs Victoria Chinedu Ukwu, she was called about noon and informed that her husband was shot to death by the police at Alaoji.
She narrated: “It is getting to a month since my husband was killed by policemen in Alaoji, and they have not given any tangible reason for the action. He had, the previous day (13th August), moved us and some of our belongings into our new house and said he was traveling to Umuahia to deliver goods and would return the following day to complete the movement of the remaining property from the rented apartment we had lived in.
“I was told that he, on returning to Alaoji/Port Harcourt/Enough expressway intersection, had gone into a restaurant to eat and was coming out from the place even with a toothpick still in his mouth when the police bullet got him and he fell.”
Mrs Ukwu said the Ugwunagbo police division, whose men were fingered to be responsible for her husband’s death, has remained aloof, taking no action about what happened and the way to bury him and pacify the family he left behind.
“I don’t know if the police think they killed a fowl as they have neither visited us to show remorse or make a move that will make us believe that the act was unintentional.
“We have children – two boys and three females, to carter for. Things are very hard now. It had been very straining for husband and wife to feed the family. So, how do I cope now?,” she asked with tears flowing freely from her eyes.
Her second daughter, Chinonso, an accountancy graduate of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MUOAU), Umuahia, who just returned from her one year National Youth Corps Service (NYSC) programme, said the family expects justice. She appealed to Governor Alex Otti to wade into the matter to ensure that the police men responsible for her father’s death were brought to book, even as she also called for financial and other available assistance from the authorities for the family to return to normal living after the loss of their bread winner.
The younger brother of the deceased, Maduabuchukwu Ukwu, told our correspondent that he received a call with his brother’s phone informing him that the owner of the number was shot to death by police at Alaoji. He added that on reaching the location, he saw Chinedu’s lifeless body on the ground.
According to him, he protected the Ugwunagbo divisional police officer, who came to the scene on receiving information on what had happened from being mobbed by a surging crowd that had gathered to demand justice.
He also joined in ensuring that his late brother’s body was properly deposited in a mortuary but regretted that subsequent handling of the matter by the Ugwunagbo police division has left much to be desired even after the family was asked to make a statement on the death, which it did.
He said: “We have yet to be told what to expect by the police in Ugwunagbo. They seem to be playing games with us, telling us, alongside members of the Maritime Flat Cargo Transport Union, Port Harcourt, to which our late brother belonged, that they had begun investigation into what happened that led to his being shot to death.
“At a point, we were advised to hire a lawyer to handle the matter as the police was becoming indifferent and difficult to understand. We even approached the military, whose members were at a road block in Alaoji and had seen the police action that led to our brother’s death.
“The family want justice and need government assistance to be back to good life. Our brother’s death has disorganized us, so we demand justice.”
On plans to get the police to release his body for burial, Maduabuchukwu said no such arrangement was in place yet as the family was still not in tune with the reality of Chinedu’s death in view of the way it happened.
The Abia police command, in a statement after the killing, promised to investigate the incident and what led to an alleged crossfire between some of its operatives that resulted in the killing of Chinedu.
