The police in Plateau state have arrested five of its personnel attached to its C Division for allegedly shooting a 17-year-old boy, Ibuchim Ofezie, in Jos.
The spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Alfred Alabo, disclosed this in a statement released on Monday, April 4.
It was gathered that in a bid to enforce the ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles in the state, the personnel visited the terminus market and started chasing those illegally operating. In the process, they started shooting and a stray bullet hit Ofezie, who was sitting in his shop at the market.
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Alabo said the state Commissioner of Police, CP Bartholomew Onyeka, who condemned the incident, said that the affected personnel would be sanctioned after a proper investigation has been carried out.
”The Commissioner of Police Plateau State Police Command, CP Bartholomew N. ONYEKA, psc(+) and condemns the killing of one Mr Ibuchim Ofezie, ‘m’, aged 17yrs old, a resident of Agingi Community of Bassa Local Government Area, Jos by some obdurate police patrol operatives attached to “C” Division of Plateau State Command.
“The command condemned the killing of one Mr Ibuchim Ofezie, a resident of Agingi Community of Bassa Local Government Area, by some obdurate police patrol operatives attached to our “C” Division.
“The Police Commissioner, who described the incident as a paradox, asserted that police officers are empowered by law to bear firearms to protect the lives of the citizenry and not to take lives with them. In order to ensure that the erring patrol team do not evade justice, the commissioner has immediately ordered their arrest.
“The five personnel in the patrol team have been arrested and are currently being investigated at our Homicide Section of the Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the command,” he said.
Alabo added that the state Commissioner of Police assured the family and friends of the deceased and Plateau residents in general, that the suspects would be thoroughly investigated and justice would be served.
