•Urges youths not to take law into their hands

By Tunde Oso

Head of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown, AUMFC and ex-militant leader, Dr. Eshanekpe Agimor Israel, aka Akpodoro, has described the killing of Oghenenene Ogidi in Effurun Uvwie LGA, Delta State, by the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force as brutal and wicked, saying the time has come for the police establishment to end “decades of primitive policing and man’s inhumanity to man” in the force. 

Akpodoro made this known in a statement sent to Vanguard on Thursday, saying that no amount of subterfuge will make Nigerians believe that those who killed Oghenemine were not complicit in the crime he allegedly committed, as he calls for regular mental evaluation of the men of the Nigerian Police Force. 

The former militant leader urged the youths to remain calm and maintain peace, assuring that the police leadership is working to calm frayed nerves and that justice at the end of the day would be served. “In the spirit of national solidarity and patriotism, I call on Urhobo Youths to remain calm and maintain peace since authorities are on top of the situation.”

“What happened in Effurun raises serious concerns about violations of the three major constitutional provisions. A suspect who is already subdued and begging to speak does not justify the use of lethal force. That is not policing; it points to unlawful killing and recklessness, and it raises hard questions that cannot be ignored. What was in that waybill? Who sent it and who was meant to receive it? Could it be a gift from someone to him? A gun he knew nothing about, and you don’t think he was set up? Who instructed him to pick it up? Why was there no attempt to extract information from him? Who was he about to mention, and what truth was about to come out?” Akpodoro queried.

The Mayor further stated that it is incumbent on the police hierarchy to put a measure in place to strictly monitor the activities of police personnel across the country, noting that, being the most visible civil establishment that interfaces with members of the public, there must be a system that monitors the activities of operatives within and outside police formations. 

“The reckless use of arms by the police, the Mayor stated, could trigger another civil disobedience reminiscent of the infamous EndSARS insurrection that he said almost subsumed parts of the country, saying, the political system shouldn’t allow some unbridled elements wrongly recruited into the force to plunge the nation into chaos, stressing that Nigeria and Nigerians need peace. 

“It is noteworthy that policemen are more civil in some parts of the country, displaying their recklessness in other parts. Not even in the insurgents-ravaged North has a policeman in broad daylight shot a manacled suspect at such close range. If you ask me, the investigation of that incident must be thorough; it must go beyond dismissal into finding out further causes of that ignoble act by the police team. 

“The police roadblocks in the Niger Delta region are far more than what you have in the areas where insurgency, kidnappings and banditry are their way of life. You cannot travel two kilometres on Southern Nigerian roads without police checkpoints, whereas it is not so in the northern parts of Nigeria. Why”? Mayor Akpodoro queried. 

He commended the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, for his swift reaction to the incident he noted was at the verge of igniting unwholesome developments, saying the nation should always remember that the EndSARS crisis started from Delta State and a repeat of such ugly incident shouldn’t be allowed as he commiserated with the family of the deceased mother who has reportedly lost her two sons in similar circumstances.