The Network on Police Reform In Nigeria (NOPRIN) has called for a thorough investigation to ascertain the actual circumstances and truth surrounding the killing of Samuel Imaikop and four others by policemen of the Edo State Police Command on November 24.
In a preliminary report today on the incident, the group stressed that the investigation must include an autopsy and a Coroner’s inquiry to ascertain how and why the five men were killed, and that there must be legal consequences, including redress and accountability for the murder.
The NOPRIN report said that Samuel Imaikop, a farmer from Nsital LGA of Akwa Ibom State, was shot dead at a police checkpoint on the Benin Bye-Pass at about 9am on that day along with four men he had hired to work on his farm.
“The dead bodies of the five men were dumped at the back of a white police Hillux van and driven to the Edo Sate Police Headquarters on Sapele Road, Benin City,” the report said. “The late Samuel’s Nissan bus was driven by a policeman following behind the police van to the Edo State Police Headquarters.”
The report further said that at Police Headquarters, the bodies were dumped on the ground and displayed publicly as “armed robbers” with a gun placed on them as an exhibit.
“It is not clear how the police arrived at the judgement or conclusion that the killed men were armed robbers,” NOPRIN said. “There was no evidence that they were shot during a robbery operation or that they had a tip off or prior information about them and then laid in wait for them.”
Mr. Imaikop, 42, was married with two wives and 7 children, and his second wife is pregnant.
These bloodthirsty Policemen must be brought to justice.
Source: SaharaReporters
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