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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
There is worry and mistrust in the Enugu State Police Command, particularly at the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), following the recent shooting to death of a senior officer by a corporal.
The corporal, identified as Victor Iwobi, allegedly shot and killed Deputy Superintendent of Police Alexander Gbonuka, who hailed from Delta State, on July 27, 2023.
Although Iwobi was reported to have been summarily dismissed on November 6 and “may be charged to court,” sources in the state command alleged that Gbonuka was killed in “very questionable circumstances.”
In a seeming tradition, the command’s spokesman ignored calls for him to speak on the issue.
Daily Sun gathered that Iwobi shot the senior officer during the training of personnel enlisted for the Enugu State Government-sponsored Distress Response Squad (DRS) of the state police command at the CTU barracks, Maryland Estate, Enugu.
Inside sources alleged that trouble actually started when CSP Abdukareem Sulemain Adewole took over as the CTU commander, and replaced Gbonuka as the officer in charge of administration with a junior officer, Inspector Olatunde Afeez Kolawole.
It was further alleged that Kolawole and his orderly, Iwobi, made life ‘unbearable’ for the deceased, including taunting and undermining him, not minding that he was a senior officer.
In the main, there was increasing concern over some behind-the-scenes moves to either free the accused killer of the offence or ensure that flimsy charges were preferred against him.
Sources said that a powerful clique within the command tutored some of the trainees who witnessed the shooting on what they claimed had happened at the scene when invited to testify at the state command.
Daily Sun was told by some officers that the police hierarchy had not handled the matter properly. They called for proper investigation into what led to the killing of the DSP, including the allegation that there was no love lost between him and the commander on one hand and the officer in charge of administration on the other hand.
One of them said: “They need to properly investigate what actually happened, including the situation that led to an inspector humiliating the DSP on occasion because he was in charge of administration and felt that hewas untouchable.”
Our reporter could not confirm the allegation that a member of the so-called powerful clique invited some family members of the deceased and tried to prevail on them to forgive the trigger-happy corporal.
“Your brother is gone, there’s nothing you can do to bring him back. So, pardon Corporal Iwobi so that he could possibly return to service,” the officer in question was quoted to have said.
