Emerging report indicates that the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has said that the victim of an alleged shooting by Police Officers in Ughelli, Delta State, is alive.
In a tweet from the Minister’s handle on Sunday afternoon, he explained that he spoke with the brother of the victim, Ochuko.
His tweet read: “The outfit involved in this case is called Operation Delta Safe, and not SARS, (b) the victim was not shot as confirmed by his brother, but fell out of the Police vehicle, when being taken to the Station after arrest”, the Minister said, while condemning alleged extra-judicial killings by Officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, F-SARS, and other Units of the Police.
“The brother said he was pushed; the Police said he jumped.”
The Minister who shared a photo of the victim on the Hospital bed with injuries, further narrated that after he (victim) fell, the Police Officers wanted to pick him up, “but an angry mob had already gathered, and the Police fled and left the victim. A Good Samaritan picked him and took him to Hospital”.
While calling on youths in Ughelli, not to take to violence, and the destruction of lives and properties, he assured that, “I am on top of this matter, and though the victim is alive, I will be urging the authorities to still investigate the conduct of the Police in this matter”.
Many Nigerians on Saturday and Sunday, took to the social media to condemn the activities of the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police, calling for the Unit to be proscribed.
The outrage to EndSARS, appeared to have been triggered by a post from a Twitter user, who said that he recorded SARS Officials shooting “a young boy dead, at Ughelli, Delta State… in front of Wetland Hotels. They left him for dead on the roadside, and drove away with the deceased Lexus jeep.”
More news later…