Tony John, Port Harcourt
Mr Nyordeh Sylvanus has narrated how his three-day-old daughter was allegedly killed by stray bullets from operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on August 14, 2014.
Another victim of alleged police brutality, Lucky Eze, demanded for a compensation of N20 million and payment of his medical bills from the police for causing damage to his right ear.
They made the allegations at the commencement of hearing of the Rivers State judicial commission of inquiry on police brutality in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Eze, a resident of Ahoada Town in Ahoada-East Local Government Area of the state, Eze, demanded for a compensation of N20 million for incurred medical bills and continuation of treatment.
According to him, he started having hearing problem with a hole in his inner ear after he was slapped by policemen, who invaded his place of work on January 28, 2018.
He said: “I came here to seek for justice for brutality and wickedness visited on me by the police on January 28, 2018. I have been having hearing problem since them. I have five medical reports from five medical doctors from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) confirming that the slap created a hole in my right ear. Another petitioner, Sylvanus, told the commission of inquiry how stray bullets from SARS operatives, who were shooting sporadically at the Rukpokwu area of Port Harcourt, penetrated the roof of his residence and killed his three-day old daughter.
Sylvanus, who also demanded for justice for his late daughter as well as reroofing of his house, damaged by alleged stray bullets from SARS operatives, called on the Rivers State government and police authority to make efforts to bring an end to incessant sporadic shooting by police operatives.
He said: “We woke up in the morning of August 15, 2014, to observe that one of the bullets from SARS operatives, who were shooting from the night of August 14, 2014, penetrated my roof and killed my only daughter, a three-day old baby.
“I picked the bullet on August 15 morning and went to SARS office and, but was stopped at the entrance of the office by operatives who ordered me to turn back or join my dead daughter.”