Massacre of 7 policemen in Delta: CLO tackles IGP, others

Friday, June 26, 2020 12:35 pm

The massacred police officers

* Calls for thorough inquest to bring perpetrators to book.

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

A civil rights group, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has tackled the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Force hierarchy over their silence in last week’s killing of seven policemen attached to the Bayelsa State Command by some unidentified Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives in Ughelli, Delta State.

The group, in a statement, said the seeming lack of investigation is fueling a conspiracy theory that there is more to the killing than the police is telling Nigerians.

The statement was signed by Bayelsa State Chairman of CLO, Nengi James-Eriworio.

In the statement, the group said, “the silence of the IGP and the two police commissioners in Delta and Bayelsa is unacceptable and unsettling,” and a “sad development to the deceased’s families and Bayelsa State, where they hailed from.”

“It is sad that the IGP will remain silent over such an incident. It is a disappointment that the police will keep mute over the murder of these officers.

“We are still wondering how the seven policemen were killed without the unidentified Federal SARS team recording any casualty. We are suspicious of the incident. It is difficult to accept that they were killed, and their rifles left with them. We doubt the circumstances surrounding the killing of these seven policemen.”

IGP Adamu

The group said whether the policemen were shot dead rightly or wrongly, the police must set in motion the process of investigating their deaths.

“The CLO is yet to be convinced that something is not fishy. The silence is an attempt to cook up a story to tell their families. We are not saying we know what happened. But what we are saying is that, these slain policemen have rights (to fair hearing) until found guilty. The incident is questionable.”

CLO likened what is playing out in the killings of the seven policemen to the scenario that played out when the alleged kidnap kingpin, Bala Hamisu (popularly known as Wadume), was rescued by some military personnel who slaughtered officers of the IGP special team that were detailed from Abuja to arrest him in Taraba State.

*Edited