FARMER ALLEGEDLY SHOT DEAD BY POLICEMAN IN OWO
…AS WIFE CALLS FOR JUSTICE
A police officer, Monday Americana Ogberika who is currently at large was alleged to have shot a middle age man dead (Anthony John) in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State while on patrol.
The incident happened on December 2nd, 2021 at newly developing area of Owo at about wee hour of the day.
While narrating the story to journalists in Akure recently, Udoji Festus said: “On December 2nd, 2021 in company of other four people carried our market (India Hemp) from Oke-Agunla to Owo through the bush pathway and when we moved near the destination we called our customer that we intended to deliver the market to and he told us to wait as he was preparing to bring vehicle to carry the market.
While we were waiting for him, we sat on our motorcycle, suddenly we saw the police vehicle and three motorcycles and the police vehicle stopped at a very close distance with the headlight of the vehicle on. The man who came out from the vehicle happened to be a man I know. He is a police officer working in Ore and built house in Alayere, Monday Ogberika Americana by name, popularly known as ‘Okay’.
“The police officer occasionally comes to Ogbese to work many times (to arrest India Hemp), when he arrested our market we would give him money and he would release it and sometime he would not agree and go ahead to sell the market himself. When he came out I was about to say ‘Oga Okay’, you still followed us to Owo all the way from Ogbese, he just triggered the English barrel in his hand, immediately I fell off from the motorcycle where I was seated and that was how he killed Anthony John who was seated close to me.
“The rest of us ran into the bush and lied down in the bush and I saw them how they carry all the market into their vehicle and drove away and I went to report the matter at the Police Station and I wrote a statement and they came to carry the dead body to mortuary in the morning.
“On the following day, when we were going, at Amurin I saw the particular vehicle that they brought that night. We all parked and we confronted them that they killed someone and did not carry the dead body and the driver denied it and said it was ‘Okay’ who was on duty on the 2nd of December that I was talking about. We insisted that they should take us to where ‘Okay’ was and we all came to Uso together but they refused to lead us to the hotel where he was and two of them (the policemen) ran away and left the driver alone.
When the people discovered that the officers were not ready to give correct information as to where ‘Okay’ was, they started beating the driver and I have to rescue him from mob and took him to police station for safety.
He also pointed out that the police driver who claimed to have retired for long was carrying gun and uniform time
Festus also pointed out that he was taken to the hospital for treatment and that the matter has been brought to SIB in Akure for further investigation.
Also speaking with journalists, wife of the deceased, Joy Anthony said her husband told her he was going to farm on the fateful evening with his business partner but it was unfortunate he was killed by a police officer.
She therefore called on the human right fighters and other relevant authorities to come to her aid and the two little children that her husband left for her.
meanwhile Fighter For Human Rights Service in Ondo State under the leadership of Oba Adewumi Babalola,(JP) has stepped into the matter to ensure justice in the matter.
your can call Oba Adewumi Babalola on this Phone number 08139580012