By Jimitota Onoyume
PORT HARCOURT: IT was certainly not a sweet story for the police penultimate week in Port Harcourt when a Corporal shot his senior, an Inspector dead and then turned the riffle at himself and pulled the trigger, killing himself on the spot as well.

Those who witnessed the sad and painful incident could not understand what informed the provocation that led to the brutal action. Ifeoma, a petty trader around the Platgeria Company on Trans-Amadi road where the incident occurred said she saw the two police men in deep argument minutes before their death.

Some others who also witnessed it corroborated her account that the two men were engaged in what could pass as a shouting rage. “We did not know it would lead to their death”, they said

Nigerian Police

According to them, the Corporal at a point threatened to kill the Inspector. The Inspector who was not armed reportedly dared him, probably thinking it was a mere threat.

This again may have further aggravated the temper of the already angry Corporal who immediately pulled the trigger, shooting the Inspector at a very close range with his AK 47 riffle. Sensing the implication of his action when he allegedly saw the lifeless body of the Inspector on the ground, he also shot himself dead with the AK 47 riffle.

When contacted for comment on the sad development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ben Ugwuegbulam confirmed that there was an ugly development between two police men on duty at the firm.

According to him, the Corporal shot the Inspector on the leg after which he shot himself on the chest. He said the two made it to a trauma centre in Port Harcourt but the Corporal resisted treatment and later gave up the ghost. He said at press time, the Inspector was responding to treatment at the trauma centre.

Continuing, he said the Police could not establish any incident of provocation that triggered the action of the Corporal. His words, “ A police Corporal  attached to B Ops at about 0900hrs while on duty at plot 278 Platgeria company TransAmadi industrial layout, Port Harcourt shot and wounded on the leg, an Inspector of Police working with him on the same beat. Thereafter the Corporal shot himself on the chest.

“No grievances between them was noticed before the incident. Victims  were rushed to Teme hospital for urgent medical treatment. The Corporal later died, refusing treatment by fighting the medical personnel. The Inspector is responding to treatment. The AK 47 riffle used by the NCO has been recovered. State CID investigating please.”

Eyewitnesses said the Police was extremely economical with the truth. No management staff of the firm was willing to comment on the issue when Saturday Vanguard visited the place. Meantime, someone who witnessed the argument before the death said it was centered on sharing ratio.

Nobody could say or even comment on whatever it was they shared or wanted to share or where what they were to share came from. They also countered the position of the Police that the Corporal merely shot the Inspector on the leg without any provocation and later shot himself on the chest and the two made it alive to the hospital where the Corporal reportedly resisted medicare.

“How can a man who shot himself with an AK47 riffle on the chest still have strength to resist medicare at the hospital? Why will a man shoot himself on the chest after he shot at his boss on the leg, a spot that is not considered a killer point?” Some of them queried when Saturday Vanguard confronted them with the claim of the Police on the issue.

Whether the victims of the action of the Corporal made it to the hospital or not, one thing that seemed certain was that the incident rattled the police in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital. The ugly development caused a gridlock on the ever busy Trans Amadi road, the day it occurred as police patrol vehicles were used to block the Platgeria end of the road for some minutes.  About twenty anti riot policemen were mobilised to the scene.

In a related development, two soldiers allegedly shot dead a man in Eleme local government area within the same week. The action of the soldiers provoked tension among residents of the community.  It took the timely intervention of the executive Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Chief Oji Ngofa Oji to calm the rising tension in the area.

Community sources who spoke to Saturday Vanguard said the deceased was mentally unstable.  He allegedly threw a bottle at the soldiers who were in a Hilux van, an act that probably provoked them and one of them opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.

“It was not the first time this man was smashing the windscreen or side mirror of private vehicles. People in Eleme know him for that, but it is unfortunate he did what he did to the wrong people. The soldiers too thought that he was a violent person”, one of the sources said.

The spokesman of the Port Harcourt army barracks, aka Bori camp, Lt Col Aminu Ilyasu could not be reached for comment on the issue.  Meantime, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ben Ugwuegbulam confirmed the sad incident.

Also, the chairman of the local government, Chief Oji decried the action of the soldiers, describing it as an abuse of fire arms.  He called for withdrawal of soldiers in the area. “It is unfortunate that this kind of crude action is still being experienced in a democracy. Why will they (soldiers) just kill a man like that? I am calling for the immediate withdrawal of the soldiers at Eleme.

“I am aware that the soldiers were guarding a private person and a private property. How can a soldier shoot a man and another soldier came down of their vehicle and shoot the same person? Now, they have killed him just like that. We as a council will not take this lightly. We must move for the prosecution of these soldiers, because we know them”, the council boss said.

Peace had since returned to the area but  those who knew the deceased are still lamenting the manner he was killed.