The corpse of 22-year-old Ibrahim Momodu, a final year student of the
University of Benin, who was allegedly shot dead by a police officer,
last Wednesday, was yesterday exhumed amid heavy police presence, to
undergo an autopsy.
This came as the Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, set up of a panel of enquiry to unravel the alleged killing.
The police command in the state still claims the deceased was a
robber who was shot while trying to evade police arrest, but the family
said their son was never a criminal and was shot unjustly by the police
who they alleged went as far as burying him without the family’s
knowledge.
The DPO who allegedly shot the deceased, it was learnt, was being
investigated, following a vow by the state Commissioner of Police,
Funsho Adebanjo, to get to the root of the matter.
Civil society organisations and students staged a peaceful protest last Tuesday, calling for the investigation of the matter.
Executive Director of the African Network for Environment and
Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, who led other civil society
organisations to the family of the deceased and to the cemetery,
commended the state government for investigating the matter, just as he
condemned the alleged extra judicial killing of the student.
It was observed as the body was taken away by a team of pathologists,
that the deceased was buried in the cloths he wore the day he was shot,
and that to some members of the family counts for something as they
believe that depicted a hurried burial after committing a crime.
Counsel to the family of the deceased Barr.Jeff Uworghiren, described
as wicked “the allegation by the police that the deceased was a
criminal. But I am happy we have our pathologist ready so we will see
how it goes. We are only asking for justice, this is a test case for the
new chairman of the Police Service Commission”.
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