Mrs. Dorcas Nwakor, a resident of Haruna Street, Odoakpu along Sokoto Road in Onitsha, Anambra State, filed a petition with Kayode Egbetokun, acting inspector general of police, alleging that police officers assigned to the Onitsha Area Command killed her son, Chibueze Nwakor.
Mrs. Nwakor said in the plea, which was made accessible to journalists in Onitsha on Monday, that Chibueze, her sole son and the father of three children, was shot dead by police officers stationed nearby on October 13, 2023, as he was making his way to work.
Through her attorney, Anayo Emejue and Associates, she made a petition to the acting IGP, stating that three police officers, including Jude Utazi, shot and killed her son that tragic day without any provocation.
The petition partly reads,
“It is our client’s instruction that on October 13, 2023, at Onitsha, Anambra State, a team of three policemen shot their son, husband and brother, Mr Chibueze Nwakor, to death for no justifiable reason.
“Chibueze, who lives at No. 15F Haruna Street, Odoakpu, Onitsha, was shot to death by policemen led by one Jude Utazi attached to Area Command, Onitsha, for allegedly refusing to answer their questions.
“After shooting him, the policemen jumped into their ash-coloured commuter Hiace shuttle bus and zoomed off.
“The victim was rushed to the hospital by his neighbours, but because of the severity of the bullet wounds, he died before receiving medical attention, leaving behind his wife and three children. His corpse has been deposited at the mortuary.
“This is a case of wilful murder of a citizen without any justification or provocation.
“The mother and the wife of the deceased want the Nigeria Police to explain why their son/husband was killed and those responsible for the killing.”
The petition was also copied to the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, the State Director of DSS, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Anambra, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Abuja, the Director, National Human Rights Commission Abuja, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, among others.
Briefing journalists in his office on Monday, the counsel to the family, Anayo Emejue, confirmed that the deceased was shot dead without any provocation by three policemen led by one Jude Utazi.
He said,
“We were told that the three policemen involved in the killing have been detained at the Police Headquarters in Awka, but when we got to Awka, we saw them moving freely on the streets.
“This was a father of three who hailed from Owerre-Ezukala, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, but he lived with his family at No. 15F Haruna St. close to Sokoto Road junction, where he does business.
“He did not commit any offence, just that he refused to answer their questions and he was shot by trigger-happy policemen and they jumped into their ash-coloured commuter Hiace and zoomed off.”
Every effort to get the reaction of the Investigating Police Officer in the case, Azuka Moses, proved abortive, as calls and messages to her telephone line were not responded to.
However, when contacted on the development on Monday, the Anambra State Police Spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident, adding that “the case is still under investigation”.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, Mr Akin Fakorede, in a letter written to the counsel for the bereaved family, urged him to be physically present for the autopsy of the deceased, billed for noon on Tuesday, at the St. Charles Borromeo Specialist Hospital Morgue, Onitsha.
The letter from the Deputy Commissioner read in part, “Notification of autopsy: Invitation to witness the autopsy of late Mr Chibueze Samuel Nwakor, of No. 15F Haruna St. Odoakpu Onitsha, murdered on 13/09/2023, post mortem examination to likely cause of death will be conducted on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, by noon at St. Charles Borromeo hospital mortuary.
“Accordingly you are please invited to be physically present at the venue as a witness to the post-mortem examination. If for any reason you can not be present, nominate an appropriate person to represent you.”
Punchng