Massacre As Seven Policemen Died in Delta: CLO Tackles IGP, Others

..Calls for thorough inquest and perpetrators brought to book

BY ERIC OLUSESAN

The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has tackled the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the force hierarchy over their alleged silence in last week’s killing of Seven Policemen attached to the Bayelsa State Command by some unidentified Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives in Ughelli, Delta State.

The group said the “seeming lack of investigation is fueling a conspiracy theory that there is more to the story.” Bayelsa State Chairman of the organisation, Nengi James-Eriworio, argued that the “silence of the IGP and the two police commissioners in Delta and Bayelsa is unacceptable and unsettling.”

Addressing reporters in Yenagoa, the activist described the situation as a “sad development to the deceased’s families and Bayelsa State where they hailed from.”
CLO alleged: “Till today, it is sad that the IGP will remain silent over such an incident. It is a disappointment that the police will keep mute over the murder of these officers.

Massacred Policemen.

“We are still wondering how the seven policemen were killed without the unidentified Federal SARS team recording any casualty. We are suspicious of the incident. It is difficult to accept that they were killed, and their rifles left with them. We doubt the circumstances surrounding the killing of these seven policemen.” It added: Whether they were shot dead rightfully or wrongly, the deaths must be investigated.

“The CLO is yet to be convinced that something is not fishy. The silence is an attempt to cook up a story to tell their families. We are not saying we know what happened. But what we are saying is that, these slain policemen have rights (to fair hearing) until found guilty. The incident is questionable.”

The Civil Society Organisation likened the killings to the scenario that played out when the alleged kidnap kingpin, Bala Hamisu (popularly known as Wadume), was rescued by some military personnel who slaughtered officers of the IGP special team that were detailed from Abuja to arrest him in Taraba State in the not-so-distant past.