There was tension in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, on Tuesday, when police operatives allegedly shot dead a private motorcyclist in the area.
The incident, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, occurred at about 9:00 p.m. along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway in the state capital.
A witness told this newspaper that the incident occurred when some police officers attached to the Central Police Station in Abakaliki began pursuing the motorcyclist who refused the officers’ instruction to stop.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said the officers were pursuing the motorcyclist from Afor-Ezunna Street because he had violated the state government’s order that motorcycle operation should cease by 7:00 p.m.
While the officers were pursuing the motorcyclist, one of the officers repeatedly threatened to shoot him, the witness said.
He further claimed that when the motorcyclist continued moving, one of the officers shot him dead.
It was gathered that the development caused an altercation among the operatives who questioned their colleague who fired the shot at the victim.
Some residents claimed that some police operatives later dispersed bystanders and confiscated a mobile phone from a man attempting to record the scene.
Police speak
The police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, has confirmed the incident.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, identified the slain motorcyclist as Nwanchor Uwaezuruike.
The spokesperson said the incident occurred in the area at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when the operatives, on routine patrol, responded to a distress call.
He claimed that during the operation, one of the officers “unprofessionally shot in the air,” which hit the motorcyclist and resulted in his death.
“He was rushed to the hospital but was later confirmed dead,” he said.
Mr Ukandu said the officers involved in the operation have been taken into custody over the killing of the motorcyclist.
He said the state’s commissioner of police has ordered the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the incident.
The spokesperson said the police commissioner also expressed condolences to the victim’s family and assured the public that justice would be served.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the police in the state to transparency, accountability, and professionalism.
Not the first time
Cases of police brutality, extortion, extrajudicial killings and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.
The latest incident occurred about 15 months after police operatives from the Crack Squad in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, shot dead a labourer and critically injured three others in the state.
The killing of the labourer and the injury of three others happened in November 2024.
A similar incident happened in Abakaliki in 2018 when a police officer shot and killed a commercial motorcyclist for allegedly refusing to give him a N50 bribe.
Similar unprofessional conduct of police operatives has also been recorded in other states in Nigeria.
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In August 2024, for instance, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint.
The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim filed a complaint with the police.
The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
