From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
A police inspector attached to the Police Mobile Force 55, Aba, Abia State, has died by a gunshot wound to the chest inside the police base at the weekend.
The policeman identified as Inspector Ochofie Ijimbile is said to have accidentally shot himself in the chest inside the barracks, though suicide has been speculated.
A police source in Aba told Daily Sun that Ijimbile was immediately rushed to the hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival.
Ijimbile is said to have served as a hotel guard in the city.
The Abia State Police Command’s spokesman, Geoffrey Ogbonna, who confirmed the incident to reporters, said that the policeman did not commit suicide.
Ogbonna explained that the policeman was servicing his rifle in readiness for the day’s job when a bullet accidently went off and hit him on the chest.
The injured policeman, he said, was immediately rushed to hospital where he was confirmed dead.
Ogbonna disclosed that preliminary investigation has commenced to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.
He disclosed that the corpse of the late policeman had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary in Aba while efforts are on to contact his family.
