THE Rivers State Police Command says it is investigating the circumstances that surrounded the death of Hosea Yakubu, an Inspector who was reportedly beaten to death by yet to be identified officers of the Nigerian Army at Eleme Petrochemical gate, Port Harcourt.
Nnamdi Omoni, the Rivers State Police Spokesperson who confirmed the incident to The ICIR on Monday, said Police is currently investigating the case and would inform the public after the investigation.
“Yes, it is true,” Omoni told The ICIR that Yakubu was beaten to death by the soldiers in the state capital.
A brother of the deceased police inspector reportedly said the soldiers confronted Yakubu and his other colleagues for driving against traffic with the police van on August 16.
He added that during the heated argument, one of the soldiers slapped the police driver prompting Yakubu to challenge him.
According to him, one of the soldiers used a thick wood to hit his late brother’s head and he fell to the ground.
He stated that Yakubu was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) for medical attention, but died at the hospital.
“After 24 hours on admission, he gave up. Till today, neither the police nor the military has said anything or taken any action to bring the culprits to book,” he reportedly said.
There have been other reported cases of clashes between men of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army.
Earlier in May, a combined team of men of the Edo State Police command and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) allegedly beat up a soldier, for not wearing a face mask in Benin City.
In 2019, three police officers were killed in Taraba state by soldiers while transporting a high-profile kidnap suspect, Bala Hamisu also known as Wadume.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94