SHOCKING PHOTO: Lagos Policemen Kill Undergraduate And Friend In A Gruesome Lynching
Policemen
attached to the Badagry Police Division, Lagos State, and some hoodlums
have been accused of killing a 25-year-old undergraduate of Delta State
University, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor, and his friend, identified simply
as Kazeem.
An eight-minute video clip of the gruesome killing showed the two
victims handcuffed together. They were covered in their own blood and
beaten to death with sticks. Tyres were also put round their necks.
An irate mob could be seen in the video, shouting, “die, die, burn them, burn them.”
At some points in the video, a policeman was seen interviewing the
boys. He asked who sent them (victims) to rob the area, an accusation
they denied. One of the hoodlums, holding a sharp object attempted to
cut off the private part of one of the victims.
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Nwainokpor could be seen pleading with the hoodlums and policemen to
spare his life, saying he could identify himself if given a chance. His
plea, however, fell on deaf ears.
A source, who visited the family of Nwainokpor on Tuesday, learnt
that the lynching took place around 3pm on July 21, 2013 in Ajara area
of Badagry, a community not far from Nwainokpor’s family home.
His father, Samuel said that his son was arrested while passing
through a street in the area but a misunderstanding later ensued and
the hoodlums pounced on him and Kazeem.
He added that Nwainokpor, who was nicknamed Ify, was a final year student of Geology and Mining.
He said, “On that particular day, I was in Ghana when I received a
telephone call that I should come immediately. My wife was in Delta
State taking care of her mother.
“When I arrived two days later, my relatives and the caretaker of my
house told me that my son was killed in the Ajara area along with his
friend. I was devastated.
“I got my son a temporary job with a Customs licensed agent since
their lecturers were on strike. He worked everyday except on Sundays
when he visited his friends. On that day, he went to see Kazeem and
they were strolling around Ajara.”
Samuel said because there had been a robbery in Ajara four days
earlier, some of the residents were on the lookout for strange faces.
He added that when the youth saw two unknown young men, they accosted them and an argument ensued.
He said the youth called the head of the vigilante group in the area, one Asiribo.
He said, “Asiribo came to the scene with a locally-made pistol and
handcuffs. He handcuffed my son and his friend before asking them
questions.
“Later, it was decided that the boys be taken to the Baale, Agano
Oniyon of Agamade Ajara. But as they were going, Asiribo, while trying
to return his gun into its pouch, mistakenly shot himself in the
stomach and died.”
Samuel said Asiribo’s death infuriated the youth, who blamed the
boys for his death.“The mob picked up sticks and beat them to death.
Policemen were there,” he said.
Holding back tears, the retired immigration officer added that the
police treated the matter as a robbery case. Beating his chest,
Samuel said there was no way his son would have been involved in armed
robbery.
Nwainokpor’s boss, Aloysius Onyenibedi, described him as an honest and hardworking person.
“I trusted him to the extent that I used to keep a lot of money with him. He was good to my children and was honest,” he said.
The Nwainokpor family berated the Divisional Police Officer, Badagry
Police Station, Dankoli Mohammed, for the manner he treated the case.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said,
“The incident is quite pathetic. Even if they were armed robbers, no one
has the right to take the life of another. Why then do we have the
police and the judiciary? The Nigerian police as well as the law condemn
mob action and jungle justice. The commissioner of police has set up a
high-powered investigation body to investigate the matter.”
