DPO, 4 Policemen Arrested for Murdering 2 Detainees in Port Harcourt

Pat Stevens/

Police authorities in Rivers State have confirmed the arrest of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Mile 3 Nkpolu Police Station in Port Harcourt, Baridon Monsi, and four other policemen over alleged extrajudicial killing of a 16-year-old boy and an unidentified man at the station.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the development to journalists in Port Harcourt, but said investigation was still ongoing in the matter.

The DPO was alleged to have ordered the killing of Abdullahi Idris, said to be a porter, and an unidentified man who had hired him to convey a generator with his wheelbarrow on Saturday.

NewsmakersNG learnt that both were wrongly accused of stealing the generator by some youths who beat them up and later took them to the Mile 3 Police Station, where they were detained on the orders of the DPO.

Idris’ relations had reportedly gone to the police station later in the day to give him food since he was fasting, but the policemen on duty denied them access to the teenager.

When the relations called the DPO to complain about the conduct of his men, he reportedly asked them to come back later, which they did but could still not see Idris.

The relations later got to know that the DPO had ordered his men to shoot Idris earlier in the day, following which they decided to report the development to the Commissioner of Police.

The Commissioner of Police reportedly went straight to the station to confirm things for himself, but the DPO lied to him that the deceased was shot because he and his group wanted to invade the station.

The DPO later took the Commissioner to where Idris and the owner of the generator were buried.

The police boss consequently ordered that the bodies be exhumed and also directed that the DPO and the other policemen involved in the death of the two should be arrested.

0