The family of a farmer, Umog Charlie, allegedly killed by a police inspector identified as Oliver Akang in Akwa Ibom State, has cried out for justice. According to The Punch, the family also said the command had offered them N1.3m as compensation to let the matter rest. Umog was allegedly murdered on Asutan Street, Off Barracks Road, Uyo, the state capital.
It was gathered that, Akang and five other policemen attached to the anti-kidnapping and anti-cultism police unit in Uyo, during a raid, stormed Ibong Otoro village and shot aimlessly. Umog’s sister, Esther Ini, and his brother, Destiny Ini, revealed that efforts by the villagers to caution the policemen over the aimless shooting fell on deaf ears until a bullet from Akang’s rifle hit Umog.
They disclosed that the policemen fled the scene after Umog was shot as they noted that the deceased was survived by his wife, Edidiong Ini, and four children. Esther stated, “When we visited the Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi, over the killing of my brother by Inspector Akang, the CP personally handed over the sum of N100,000 cash to us before we left his office. “Later, while Akang was detained in the cell over the matter, the OC (Officer-in-Charge) of the anti-cultism and anti-kidnapping invited my brother and they gave him the sum of N1.2m and forced us to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to stop legal proceedings on the killing of our brother.
“What we want now is justice. Our brother had four kids before he died and the oldest child is 10 years old. Now, there is no one to cater for the children as his wife is jobless”. Destiny also said, “The OC (I don’t know his name) and his boys invited me and they gave us N1.2m. But before they gave us the money, they took us to a court and forced us to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for us not to take the matter to court or speak to the press. After my brother was killed and we went to the police, they threatened us and said they would accuse us of being criminals, so they said if we didn’t take the ₦1.2m, we should forget about the matter, and that would be all.”
A copy of the MoU between the deceased’s family, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi, and signed by the deceased’s wife, Edidiong, and the deceased’s siblings, Destiny, and Glory Ini had corroborated the narration of the relatives. A lawyer, Nango Nango, who spoke on behalf of the deceased’s wife, said that following the receipt of the petition, the CP and the police officers reached out to the families of the deceased instead and never informed him about the development leading to the signing of the MoU and the offer and receipt of the N1.2m, between the police and the family. When contacted on the phone, Akang, who initially answered the call, refused to respond to questions over the development and ignored subsequent calls and a text message sent. Also, Durosinmi could not be reached as his number was unavailable as of the time this report was filed, the source said.
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