THE Enugu State Police Command has refused to disclose the identity of the officer who shot and killed five persons in the state on Saturday.
Spokesperson for the Enugu Police Command Daniel Ndukwe had, in a statement, said a police inspector attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 9, Umuahia, Abia State, who was on duty at RC Lotto Company located at Golf Estate in Enugu, shot some residents.
The statement did not name the concerned police officer.
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About five persons died from gunshot wounds while four others sustained injuries and were being treated in hospital.
Ndukwe said the officer had been arrested and taken into custody pending the conclusion of investigations.
But when contacted by The ICIR on Monday evening, Ndukwe refused to disclose the identity of the police officer.
He said the name of the officer would not be made known until the end of the investigation. But he added that the officer was in police custody.
Reacting to the incident, Governor of Enugu State Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi expressed shock at the ‘misuse of firearms’ by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.
Ugwuanyi, according to a statement released by his aide Louis Amoke, described the incident as sad and unfortunate.
The governor visited victims of the shooting at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu.
After the constitution of the Enugu State judicial panel on police brutality earlier in 2020, more than 130 petitions were received with the complaints bordering on illegal killings and gross misconduct by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94