Dubem Okonkwo, the widow of a slain 48-year-old biker, has accused the Anambra State Police Command of being paid to kill her husband while he was in jail.
Mrs. Ebere Okonkwo said that her husband was killed by the police at Awkuzu police cell in Oyi LGA despite having committed no crime.
“I assume that someone hired the cops to assassinate my spouse,” the widow stated.
Okonkwo was a member of the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) Awka chapter when he was arrested in March 2022.
Mrs Okonkwo recounted her quest for her late husband, saying he went missing from the Awkuzu police cell after being paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, on April 15, 2022, at the Awka police headquarters.
According to the mother of one, the police picked up her husband in Unizik Junction Park, but the CP refused to notify the family or his association about his crime until he was killed by the police.
“Why did the cops murder my spouse in cold blood?” she said. I believe someone bribed them to murder him. Assuming he committed a crime, was it appropriate to execute him in the jail without bringing him to justice?
“The cops will now hunt for a felony to hang him for.” But, even if he had committed a crime, was it ethical to execute him without bringing him to justice?”
“I need justice,” she says, referring to her husband’s death. And every Nigerian must join me in my struggle for justice. I want an answer for my husband’s death.
“That is why I am pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of Women Affairs, and well-meaning Nigerians to persuade CP Echeng to bring the officers and those who bribed them to kill him to justice.”
She also asked the president and the IGP to persuade the Anambra Chief of Police to let her collect her husband’s remains and give him a proper burial.
DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the state police spokesperson, said the late Okonkwo’s file was with the CP.
