A group under the aegis of ‘Take It Back Movement’, in Rivers State, has demanded transparent, and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 300-level student at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Godwin Akpakpan, who was reportedly killed by a stray bullet fired by military personnel..
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by the coordinator, King Amanyie, the group described the killing of Akpakpan as “a grave violation of human rights and an unacceptable abuse of power.”
The statement read, “We demand an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Akpakpan’s death. The officers involved must be identified, held accountable, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“Anything short of justice will only further erode public trust in law enforcement. The TiB Movement stands in solidarity with the family, friends, and colleagues of the late Mr Akpakpan during this difficult time,” Amanyie stated.
Meanwhile, the family Akpakpan has accused the police of trying to cover up the matter.
In an interview with PUNCH Metro, the deceased’s brother, Francis Akpakpan, disclosed that the deceased had come to watch a football match at his lounge on April 16 and later went home.
He narrated that afterwards, he was unable to reach his brother over the phone, after repeated attempts.
He said, that on April 17, someone who claimed to be a police officer picked up the call and informed him that his brother had been shot by military personnel.
Akpakpan continued, “When we got to the station, they brought out a statement, but they refused to give it to us. After that, we went there with a lawyer and were asked to come back the following week.
“When we got there, they showed us a minibus which military personnel opened fire on. After that, we insisted on seeing the corpse. They told us that the anti-cultism base had taken the body to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
“We went to UPTH, but when we got there, the injuries on the corpse we saw did not match the statement we were given.
“According to the statement, an army officer had opened fire on a minibus from which my brother was in. However, when we saw my brother’s corpse, we observed two gunshot wounds on his stomach and some bruises on his body, which suggests that he must have been beaten.”
The deceased’s brother noted that their attempts to question inconsistencies in the account of the incident were met with resistance from the police, who allegedly warned them not to probe further into the death of the student.
“After that, we insisted on seeing the officer who claimed to have witnessed when the military officer shot him. The IPO then took us to the Anti-Cultism Unit, Dragon Base. When we got there, the IPO went inside to discuss secretly with those officers. When he returned, he then asked only two people to go and see the corpse.
“He asked us not to investigate further, warning that the military officers might likely shoot us too. I refused and went back to investigate further, which upset the IPO. From my investigations, I discovered that the address he had taken us to did not match the statement he had previously given.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed that the deceased may have been killed by a stray bullet.
She narrated that some officers of the command had stopped a vehicle conveying the student and some passengers during a stop-and-search operation.
She noted that, upon searching the vehicle, the police team discovered a parcel of Indian hemp at the back of the vehicle, and efforts to identify the owner of the illicit substance proved abortive.
The PPRO continued that the police team decided to take the vehicle’s occupants to the station for further interrogation but, on their way to the station, they encountered a group of people engaged in an altercation with some military personnel.
She said, “The police officers tried to intervene but to no avail. As they were proceeding, the military personnel shot at the vehicle, and the bullet hit the boy.
“The police took him to a hospital, but he was confirmed dead. The command has written to the military authorities but they have not yet responded.”
The spokesperson expressed condolences to the family and stressed that the command would ensure that justice was served in the matter.
“The investigation is ongoing. He will certainly get justice. I sympathise with the family,” Iringe-Koko concluded.
