Meanwhile, thirteen suspects arrested in connection with the killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt will be arraigned in court today.This was made
known in Port Harcourt yesterday by Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Muhammed Ndabawa.
known in Port Harcourt yesterday by Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Muhammed Ndabawa.
This came as parents of two of the four deceased students petitioned Rivers State House of Assembly, RVHA, calling for trial of the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, at the Isiokpo Police Division Headquarters, for faililg to avert the lynching of their children.
Also, literary icon, Captain Elechi Amadi (rtd), has absolved his Aluu community of complicity in the killing of the four students of the University of Port Harcourt at Omuokiri-Aluu clan, even as Rivers State chapter of Trade Union Congress, TUC, condemned the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, for displacing Head of Philosophy Department, Dr. Andrew Efemini, for joining students’ protest against the killings.
Human rights group, Youth and Conflict Resolution Initiatives, YCRI, also called for the immediate sack of Rivers State Commissioner of Police for his inability to coordinate the fallout of the killings.
Police parade suspects
The Police Commissioner spoke yesterday at the Police Headquarters in Port Harcourt, while parading the suspects. Three of the suspects, who were allowed to field questions from newsmen, confessed that policemen arrived Omuokiri-Aluu community before the four students were murdered.
One of the suspects, Mr David Ugbaje, said he saw two policemen when the four students were being beaten, adding that one of them pleaded that the boys should be set free.
He said the other policeman joined the mob in beating the students.
According to him, the four students were accused of robbery, adding that the mob marched the four students to a compound on Coca-Cola Street to confirm if they truly went there to see a tenant, Mr Bright, as they alleged.
Ugbaje, a cobbler, said he and other neighbours in the compound had to push the riotous mob out of the compound where Bright lived when it became obvious that the mob wanted to lynch them there.
He said the man they allegedly went to see was not at home.
When asked if he did not join in beating the students, he said he only hit the students twice.
Ikechuckwu Louis Amadi and Lawal Segun in their separate comments, also said they saw policemen at the scene of the sad incident.
Lawal, a taxi driver, said he was not part of the mob that murdered the students but claimed to have pleaded with the mob to release the students.
On his part, Amadi said he saw four police men while the students were being beaten, adding that the angry mob insisted they were not going to release the boys to the policemen.
Others paraded were Alhaji Hassan Welewa, 59; Lucky Orji, 43 ; Cynthia Chinwo (F), 24; Ekpe Daniel, 30; George Nwadei, 30; Gabriel Oche 33; Ozioma Abajuo, 23; Chigozie Samuel, 22; Endurance Edet, 27 and Uwem Akpabio, 30.
Parents petition Rivers House
Meanwhile, the joint petition from the parents of Tekena Elkanah and Lloyd Michael, which was presented at yesterday’s sitting of the House by Belema Okpokiri, member representing Okrika Constituency, noted that the Isiokpo DPO whose jurisdiction coverered Aluu where the killings were carried out should be held responsible.
The petitioners held that evidences abound on the culpability of the DPO and his Division over the killings at Aluu, citing the accounts of Lloyd’s mother, Mrs. Jane Toku Mike, and Tekena’s sister who said she watched the police encourage the cheering mob to lynch and burn his brother and three friends alive, instead of rescuing them.
Okpokiri urged the house to give the petition urgent attention as the petitioners and his entire constituency were on his neck to ensure that justice was done over the killings
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan Amachree, however, referred the matter to the Public Complaints and Petitions Committee to work on it and come up with recommendations to the general House for further debate and decision.
The four students killed by the mob include Chidiaka Biringa, Llyod Michael, Tekena Elkanah and Ugonna Ibuzor.
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- Uchenna Obenasouth Onyekanihu, James Sinach Anuforo and 2 others like this.
- Lastbabystanding Vikthoriah Bholuwhatife They shud be burnt too nah, so they too can feel the pains the poor boys felt when they were being killed. Stupid people. Better still, firing squad
- Endy Edeson @all, pls remember to download and listen to the TRIBUTE SONG by a port-harcourt based musician JEFFERY ACETUNE JACKSON. click this link to download and listenhttp://hu.lk/miw6aimp064g
- Oladimeji Temilola Kemi I don't support firing squad @ all, or life imprisonment! Do u kwn wht it feels like killing pple like animals??? Butchering dis 4 promising students like cows??? Nd burning dem??? Dos mobs should av d same barbaric treatments too!!!
- Tony Nworah They should be executed. The mode of execution may be debatable but the ultimate result must be death.
- Oladimeji Temilola Kemi @Abu: my brother, i mean, did u watch dat video??? It's dehumanizing, callous, infact i don't kwn d words 2 use in describing hw dos boys were killed!!! Dos mobs will neva see d 4givness of God!
- Joy Obomanu · Friends with Osafu Abusomwan and 1 otherHe dat killed by d sword should die by d sword. And pls let dem b fast about it.
- Youngmoney Ojo Olusegun They al should b burnt with petrol nd tyer so dat dey 2 can feel d pains.Anybody dat killed with sward sal also b killed by sward.
- Farotimi Tosin Emmanuel Those who kills by sword shall die by sword.. They should be burn to ashe and pay damages to decease family.. Simple!
- Deborah Fowowe dey should aluu dem d way dey alud oda pple's children so dat dey wil fil d pain dos 4 inocent guyz felt.
- Silvermoon Fidelis Udoye make they use acid watch their heads and later boil them in a drun of a hot oil, dat will serve them right, heartless demons
- Ola Sifo George Seriously..i am wondering,what can of pain and torture can be given to them,than can be compared to the ones they gave to those boys? i think they should cut of their arms and legs then dump them by the road side,even at that its still not enough,,animals
- Williams BeautifulBarbie D-one I'm short ☺f words!! Still feeling d pains. I can't imagine W̶̲̥̅̊hα̅t̶̲̥̅̊ cld βε̲̣ done †̥ these evil minded ones d̶̲̥̅̊αt will βε̲̣ ☺f same weight as they did †̥ those guys. Anywa,I wish they cld βε̲̣ tortured †̥ death §☺ they feel pains Ąπϑ agonies too. I wish it ΨåS̤̈̊ a movie!!!!!!
- Peter Taiwo Odu Dey should 've been kill instantly, why even charging 2 court. 've dey forgoten d proverb dat say's he who kill by sword shall b burn 2 ashes not even kill by d sword dis tym arround.
- Tendency Kelvin exactly d same way d killed dis innocent souls no rmvin of anytin bt addin of more pain is alowed shaa
- Oladimeji Temilola Kemi @silvermoon: guy i dey feel u wella! No b only deir heads ooo, na all part of deir body, be 4 dey now boil dem in water.
- Victor Obimma · Friends with Tony NworahThose people should to charged to court in the first instance. But I implore the court to use every means available to it to absolve those that have nothing to do with that dastardly act. I say this because of the Nigerian factor where innocent people are sometimes made to pay for the crimes committed by those that are well-connected. Where is the so-called chief who sanctioned the lynching of those four innocent, handsome and promising young Nigerians. Still in that vein, I call on the senate and the house of representatives members to quickly pass a law that would not only ban lynching, but criminalizing it, not only in Rivers State but all over the federation. I do not support any form of killing of any human being but I recommend that those found guilty, after an exhaustive court process should be made to serve a life imprisonment without any chances of parole. This would serve as a deterrent to would be lynchers in the future. Furthermore, as I condemn unequivocally the dastardly lynching of four University of Port Harcourt students, I also condemn strongly the killings of innocent citizens accross the country. I enjoin government to bring resources to bear in finding those who have used and continue to use their polical positions to assassinate innocent citizens of this country. Without doing so government would be silently encouraging the regime of impunity the exists today for political office holders and their hangers-on who continue to use assassination to silence their political opponents. The country has had enough of killings to warrant the government to put effective measures in place to protect defenceless Nigerians
