One person was killed after being hit by a stray police bullet in Plateau State’s Jos area.
The incident occurred on Monday, when police officers from the Plateau State Police Command’s ‘C’ Division were conducting a routine check on the busy Ahmadu Bello Way in the capital’s Terminus Area.
To enforce the ban on “Okadas,” they confiscated some commercial motorcycles for illegal operation within the city. However, the security personnel encountered resistance from the operators, resulting in chaos in the area.
Following the death of the teenager, enraged youths demanded the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the incident.
However, an increase in security personnel restored normalcy to the area and provided relief to traders and shop owners alike.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police (CP), Bartholomew Onyeka, condemned the 17-year-death old’s in a press release issued on Monday.
“The Commissioner of Police Plateau State, CP Bartholomew Onyeka, condemns the killing of one Mr. Ibuchim Ofezie, ‘m’, aged 17yrs old, a resident of Agingi community of Bassa Local Government Area, by some obdurate police patrol operatives attached to “C” Division of Plateau State Command.”
CP Onyeka described the incident as a paradox, claiming that police officers are authorized by law to carry firearms in order to save citizens rather than kill them.
“The Police boss who described the incident as a paradox asserted that Police officers are empowered by law to bear firearms to protect the lives of the citizenry and not to take lives with them.
“To ensure that the erring patrol team does not evade justice, the Commissioner of Police immediately ordered their arrest.
The five officers who made up the patrol team have been arrested and are currently being investigated at the Homicide Section of the Plateau State Criminal Investigation Department, Jos (SCID).
“The CP assures the family and friends of the deceased and Plateau residents as a whole, of justice and that the culprits would be thoroughly investigated and made to face the wrath of the law according to their involvement in the vicious killing.
“He further promised that the outcome of the investigation will be made public.”
