Extra-Judicial Killing: Graduate’s Family Seeks Justice against Police.

Extra-Judicial Killing: Graduate’s Family Seeks Justice against Police.
Two years after the Late Chukwuma Ihezie, a graduate of Mechanical Engineering at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, had his life cut short reportedly in the hands of policemen attached to the Enugu State Police Command, the family of Sabastine Ihezie of Umuozu Ezumoha in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo state has requested the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and the Police Service Commission to ensure Justice is done.

Chukwuma Ihezie was awaiting his call-up for the National Youth Service Scheme and in the interim had taken up cab driving to earn money for his up keep before his unfortunate encounter with the Police and his suspicious death in their custody.
It was inconceivable at the time that the effort of the young graduate to earn a decent living, away from crime, would lead to his untimely death allegedly in the hands of officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) attached to the Enugu State Police Command, under suspicious circumstances.
In bid to unravel the mystery surrounding how and why their son died as well as seek justice for his alleged wrongful death, his family, represented by Chinedu Ihezie, elder brother to the deceased, through several petitions to the Enugu State Police Command; the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG); the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Police Service Commission (PSC), reported the case of alleged extrajudicial killing of their son in the custody of the Police following wrongful arrest but are yet to receive justice more than two years after.

In an initial petition dated March 31, 2014, to the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of Enugu State Police Command titled: The Unlawful Extrajudicial Murder of Mr. Chukwuma Ihezie; And Subsequent Financial Extortion/Expliotation of The Family by men And Officers of The Enugu State Police Command: they demanded for arrest, dismissal and prosecution of the Police officers involved in the criminal/official misconduct of the alleged culprits.

They also alleged that: “The deceased was unlawfully and brutally murdered on January 18, 2014, by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Enugu State Police Command, under the directive of one SP Felix Bolu, the 2i/c SARS, Enugu.

“The sad and unfortunate murder story journey of the deceased started sometime on Sunday, January 12, 2014, when the deceased services, as a taxi-cab driver, was secured by an unknown passenger, for the passenger to be conveyed by the deceased to a hotel located at Independence Layout area of Enugu, known and called Royal Media Hotel, which services was rendered by the deceased to the passenger.

“On reaching the said Hotel, the deceased waited inside his cab, while the passenger went into the Hotel to meet some media actors shooting films, while there; there was a misunderstanding between the passenger and the people he went to meet.
“They eventually dragged him to a Police checkpoint. The deceased told them that he is a cab driver who brought the passenger, the two of them were later taken to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Independence Layout Police Station, Enugu, where the DPO ‘allegedly’ handed over the deceased and the passenger alive to SARS officers who inflicted gunshots injury on the legs of the deceased” they said.

END.