One Out of Many: Family finally get justice for undergraduate unjustly killed by trigger-happy policemen
The family of Uwagbaokwu have finally got justice for the unjust killing of their son Ikechukwu by some police officers over two years ago.
A court has indicted the trigger-happy officers for the unjust killing of the Imo State Polytechnic undergraduate on September 10, 2015.
Ikechukwu was shot and killed when a pastor, Kings Martins, invited the police officers to arrest the deceased’s brother for stealing his church’s power generating set.
A high court judge in Umuahia ruled that the officers were guilty of indiscriminate killing.
Martins, a pastor of Christ Empire International Church, Umuahia, was also found guilty of conspiracy in the murder of Ikechukwu.
The deceased’s father, Mr. Emmanuel Uwagbaokwu, wanted a sum of N20m as compensation from the police.
Justice Okereke said during proceedings that the accused did not convince the court why the deceased was killed, since he was not the suspect the police went in search of.
All guilty parties – Martins, Ikechukwu Ogbonna , ex-Sergeant Ogbonna Alieze, Sergeant Eyong Inah, Corporal Obi Chimbuike and Constable Okafor Ugochukwu – have been ordered to render public apology to the deceased’s family.
The judge also ordered that a compensation of N2,200,000 be paid to Uwagbaokwu in damages.
He said the judgment should serve as a deterrent to policemen who think they can kill with their guns at will.
Ikechukwu’s father was pleased with the ruling, saying: “The court has proved that my late son was not an armed rubber. He was innocently killed by the police on the orders of the pastor who illegally engaged them.”
The police officers and Martins will still be arraigned in court for murder on February 19, 2018.
