Ben Dunno, Warri
Two trigger-happy policemen who shot at a 33-year-old man, Blessing Obaro Ozoka, and his cousin at popular hotel along the DSC expressway in Udu local government area of Delta state last weekend have been detained at the Command headquarters in Asaba.
The mobile policemen – and Inspector Silvanus Olopah, and a Sergeant – on special duties guarding Victory View hotel and a nearby bar resort, were reported to have shot indiscriminately into a crowd at the hotel premises in response to a commotion.
Among the victims were a 33-year-old man Obaro Ozoka, who was getting married over the weekend and his younger cousin, one Endurance Igho, 23, male, both of which sustained severe bullet injuries and are undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Reacting to the matter in a telephone conversation with Daily Sun, Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Delta Command, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, said the two police are going to be investigated and tried over a case of attempted murder and abuse of firearms.
While explaining that the Command would ensure transparency in the entire investigative process, the police spokesperson noted that the Command would ensure that justice was served at the end of the day.
According to him: “There was a case of attempted murder against two of our men in Udu and we have detained the two policemen involved pending the conclusion of investigation and trial, and we won’t compromise in ensuring that justice was carried out in this case.”
“We are, however, glad that no life was lost in this tragic incident as the two persons shot are not dead but responding to treatment in the hospital. We want to reassure the members of the public that the Command would not sweep the outcome of its investigation under the carpet,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chairman, Delta state branch of the Committee for the Defense of Human Right (CDHR), Prince Kehinde Taiga, has faulted the police authority over the abuses by the operational departments of the various police commands across the country in the posting of policemen to irrelevant locations on special duties.
He specifically queried the rationale behind posting policemen to brothels, bars, clubs and hotels, as well as being attached to irresponsible individuals in society when the various police stations are lacking manpower and patrol teams to secure the general population.
He demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari look into some of the allegations raised on the floor of the National Assembly by a serving Senator Isah Misau over the billions of naira unaccounted for by the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris.
Prince Taiga also urged the IGP to, as matter of public interest, deflate the operation departments in the state commands to allow the divisions have more men to work in securing the lives and property of the larger public.
While condemning the shooting of the innocent victims by the police at the Victory View hotel, the CDHR chairman explained that such senseless acts against innocent citizens would have been averted if the policemen in question were attached to a division where their actions would be guided by their superior officers.