Impeachment protest: Release my son’s corpse for me, mother of slain youth begs Rivers govt
The body of a young man shot dead on Tuesday during a solidarity march in Rivers State by youths protesting the State House of Assembly’s proposed impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara is being demanded by his mother.
On Monday, October 30, 2023, some young people in the state staged a demonstration in response to the notice of impeachment that members of the Rivers State House of Assembly had served on Fubara.
The young people had marched to the streets of Port Harcourt’s Old Government Reserved Area, or Old GRA, and were attempting to break down the gate to Speaker of the House Martins Amaewhule’s home.
They had given Amaewhule two hours to leave the Speaker’s official residence, but police officers from the Old GRA Police Station scattered them.
One person was claimed to have died after being shot during the procedure, and 150 young people were detained, charged, and given bail in a magistrate court on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.
Callister Ugiri is requesting that the Rivers State Police Command turn over her son’s remains. Onyekachi Ugiri was allegedly shot during the protest and died.
Ugiri said,
“On Tuesday, one of our neighbors, his name is Chiwendu, came to call my son so that they will go to Governor’s protest, to support the Governor’s protest.
“We waited in the night, Onyekachi did not return. So, I asked my daughter where Onyekachi went. She said Chiwendu carried him to go to the governor’s protest.
“On Wednesday morning, Chiwendu came back and said he carried Onyekachi to the protest and as the police were shooting, a stray bullet hit him (Onyekachi) in the head and he fell.
“He ran to a building where he died. I went to the Old GRA Police Station; they directed me to go to the control room. We went there on Moscow Road.
“They directed us again to go to State CID; they said they had taken other people away.
“They directed us to BHM hospital; I went there and saw two people that were hit by a stray bullet. As we reached there, I didn’t see my son. They asked us to go to the police clinic, I went there and my son was not there.
“Now I have seen the video, it is my son. I’m begging the governor to help me see the body of my son, including the police, anywhere they have kept my son, they should bring him for me. I have been looking for his body. I saw my son in the video where he was shot. Please wherever they are keeping the body of my son, they should bring him.”
In the meantime, the Rivers State Police Command, has denied knowledge of the shooting of any individual during the intervention at the residence of the Speaker by police operatives.