Sunday, April 21, 2024 –A businessman has died after being shot in Aba allegedly by a trigger-happy policeman.
Emmanuel Michael Okocha, from Abiriba
Community in Ohafia local government area in Abia State, was travelling with
his late father's apprentice on Wednesday. April 17, 2024.
They drove from Abriba and entered Aba
through the Osisioma flyover. However, on approaching the area opposite Abayi
Girl’s Secondary School, a team of police officers stopped them and asked for
Mr Okocha's car documents and driver’s license, which he quickly presented to
them.
After confirming that the documents were
complete, the police officer returned the documents to him and allegedly
started demanding a tip.
The late Emmanuel replied to the officer
that he had nothing to give him after wasting his time and started moving his
car to leave the checkpoint only for another officer standing in front to turn
his rifle and shoot at him without provocation, an eyewitness alleged.
Mr. Emmanuel Michael Okocha was hit by the
bullet and began shouting that he had been shot and the police team allegedly
hopped into their car and drove off.
The eyewitness drove the victim to the
nearby Living Word Hospital before calling his attorney who joined him at MCC
Police Station where the police team and the trigger-happy officer were
identified by the eyewitness.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, doctors
immediately performed surgery to save Mr Okocha's life but he succumbed to his
injuries yesterday, Friday evening, April 19.
Subsequently, the Abiriba Community are
demanding justice. They have called on the State Governor, Alex Otti to
intervene to ensure that rogue officers in the police force and other security
agencies get the message that the lives of innocent Abia State citizens must be
protected without compromise.
In a statement released on Saturday, they
wrote, “The Abiriba Community has been wounded and are saddened by the
unprovoked, reckless and brutal murder of their promising young son. The
philanthropic and kind-hearted father of the victim, Late Chief Michael N.
Okocha whose time and wealth touched numerous lives and whose commitment/drive
to Community Development is still visible in Abiriba after two decades of his
demise must be watching from the spirit world to see how his beloved Abiriba
will rally to ensure that those who brutally cut-short the life of his beloved
son are served the justice they deserved.
"This ugly incident is a constant
reminder that the Government needs to do more to checkmate the excesses of men
and women in her Security Agencies. They should be made to understand that
their job is to protect lives not to take it and firearms are only meant to be
used in extreme danger to defend themselves against deadly attack.
“Late Mr Emmanuel Michael Okocha should not
only Rest in Peace, he must Rest in Justice."
The late Mr Emmanuel Michael Okocha leaves
behind his wife and two young children.
Friends have gone on Facebook to mourn him while sharing photos of his lifeless body lying in hospital
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