Friday, November 29, 2024 -Lawyers in Benue State on Thursday boycotted sittings in court over the killing of their colleague, Mike Ofikwu.
The lawyer was killed in Otukpo LGA of the state by unknown gunmen.
Unidentified gunmen had shot dead the young lawyer and activist a week
ago at the entrance of his house, while he was driving into his residence on
return from work.
The deceased was said to have been shot multiple times and was later
rushed to a nearby hospital by sympathisers after the assailants fled, but died
last Thursday.
While protesting the killing of Ofikwu, the lawyers marched from the
High Court to the police headquarters in Makurdi, where they registered their
grievances and demanded justice to be served.
The state chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Terna Iyaji,
explained to the state Commissioner of Police, that all lawyers in the state
boycotted the courts on Thursday not only to mourn their slain colleague but to
demand quick investigation into the matter.
“All lawyers in the state including Makurdi, Otukpo and Gboko branches
are here today.
“We boycotted the courts today and we are here to urge you (police) to
step up investigation. We encourage you to expedite investigation into the
matter because this is not the first time this kind of killing would occur.
“It has happened before, Ofikwu’s killing is the second and we don’t
want to experience anything like this again,” the NBA chairman added.
Responding, the Commissioner of Police, Steve Yabnet, represented by his
spokesperson, SP Catherine Anene, appealed for calm, saying that investigation
into the matter was ongoing.
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