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Tag: Aluu

  • UNIPORT 4: Police Sergeant, two others sentenced to death

    UNIPORT 4: Police Sergeant, two others sentenced to death

    …Court blames Army, Police for deaths

     

    Justice Letam Nyordee of a Rivers state High court Monday convicted and sentenced to death an Ex-Police Sergeant, Lucky Orji and two others for the murder of four undergraduate students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) at Aluu, a university village in Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, in October 5, 2012.

    Other persons sentenced to death alongside Sergeant Orji are David Chinasa Obada and Ikechukwu L. Amadi (a.K.a. Kapoo).

    Abiodun Yusuf, Joshua Egbe, Cyril Abam and John Ayuu (a.k.a Jonny Barbar) were discharged and acquitted.

    The court said the prosecution failed to establish beyond all reasonable doubt a case of murder of the victims against them.

    Ugonna Obuzor (19), Tekena Elkanah (23), Lloyd Toku Mike (22), and Chiadika Biringa(23) were paraded naked and later lynched by a pull of water beside a waste dump at Umokiri in Aluu community. They were accused of stealing laptop and mobile handset; an allegation the court had since absolved them of.

    Twelve persons, including the Paramount Ruler of the community Alhaji, Hassan Welewa and a retired Police sergeant Orji were being tried for the murder of the four youths.

    Alhji Welewa and four others were charged for negligence with felony to prevent murder. They were granted bail in 2015 and later discharged and acquitted, January, 2017.

    In the judgement that lasted for almost three hours, Justice Nyordee condemned the murder of the youths and blamed it mostly on the failure of the security agencies in the state, especially the Police and the Army in carrying out their constitutional responsibility, for which they are claiming big salaries.

    The judge regretted that not more security officers were charged in the case.

    Convicting the trio he said, “The murder of the four victims on October 5, 2012 at Umokiri is unjustified, uncalled for as unsatisfying that there several actions there are together with others at large was only intended to cause the death accordingly, I hereby find each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants guilty of the offence in respects to counts one, two and four of the information filed and therefore convict each of them accordingly in line with the provision of section 319 of the criminal code Cap 11, of Laws of rivers state, 1999.”

    Further in his sentencing the court regretted that several factors including gross negligence of men of the Joint Task Force (JTF), and Police, and ignorance of the societal roles led to the deaths of the boys apart from the actions of the persons convicted, stressing that if the JTF and the Police patrol team as well as the C4i team had rescued the victims the death would not have occurred.

    “The death of the four victims in one whole act of the convicts and others at large cannot be justified. We are talking about the death of young people full of life who were great hope for their families and society at large. The candles of their lives were abruptly and undeservedly and without a single thought lit out with mere breath against all societal expectations.

    “Their deaths and the hopes of their families and society and families at large are irreparable that is why we deemed it fit to invoke the maximum of criminal Act in the case of prove murder which the court has sincerely unfolded.

    “Let me use this opportunity to say that what resulted to the unfortunate deaths of the victims in this case, is a combination of several unfortunate factors, including the ignorance of societal role in the preservation of communal lives, the shameful failure of security institutions…, that several security outfits around the vicinity of the scene of the murder of the four young men in this state was enough to guarantee their safety if they were committed to exhibit promptness to professional and lawful duties of protecting life and property.

    “No explanation can ever be seen or taken as reason why the security teams in the area such as the police patrol team from Isiokpor division, the JTF, the c4i and the Aluu police post that were all armed at least minimally could not mobilize either individually or jointly to rescue the youths whose allegation that they were robbers could not be substantiated.

    “The deaths of these bright young men in the circumstance given shows how cheap human life is, even when compared to mere animals. It is also surprising to know why police officers who are claiming heavily in their official duties to protect the lives in this state are not apprehended and sanctioned with criminal charge in a situation as grievous as this. It is still the sorry state of the affairs of the society,” he concluded.

    The judge continued, “’the conviction and sentence to the maximum tense will teach all men that human life is sacred, and should be respected and protected as the commanded by God the sole owner of life.

    “The case of the convicts is one of the deterrents to all other men to treat human life with utmost care respect, accordingly the convicts deserve a maximum of the following, “I hereby sentence Ex-sergeant lucky Orji to deaths for the murder of the victims in this case, I also hereby sentence Ikechukwu Lois Amadi to deaths of the victims in this case, I also sentence David Chinasa Obada for the murder of the same victims, may all the convicts herein receive the Mercy of the creator of all lives, and May the Lord show you Mercy, that is the sentence,” he concluded.

    In their reactions, the father of one of the victims, Mike Toku Mike, Lloyed’s father, a broadcaster, “I am partially happy that the garment of robbery, criminality has been pulled off from the four young men that were murdered in Aluu. It is crystal clear that the boys were innocent; they did not steal or robbed, but only went to the place to demand the money they were owed and they were falsely tagged and killed.

    “However, I would have been happier if the seven of them were convicted and sentenced, but the law did not see it like that but only three were sentenced, it is ok.

    “I thank God that after the trauma we went through, and the case lingering for so long a time, it is now over, that makes me happy.”

    In the same vain, the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Ibikiri Otoribio, who led team of state counsel to prosecute the case expressed satisfaction on the judgement, “justice has been done, we are satisfied.”

    Asked what will happen to those suspects that are still at large especially one Bright, who was the actual person that tagged the victims armed robbers and raised the alarm that led to their lynching, now that the case has been concluded and they are not yet apprehended, challenged the police to do their job by ensuring that he is smoked out and arrested. He assured the public that anytime he was arrested, they would open case against him.

    “It is left to the Police to do their duty, they should go on to investigate the matter, it’s not totally over yet, anytime those of them still at large are apprehended, there is no time limit in capital offences, we will come up and prosecute,” he stressed.

     

  • Memorial lecture for slain students

    A Two-day memorial programme has been planned in honour of the four slain students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), on October 4 and 5.

    They are, Ugonna Obuzor, Lloyd Toku Mike, Tekena Friday Elkanah and Chiadika Biringa.

    This was disclosed yesterday at a news briefing in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by the four parents.

    In a statement signed and issued at the conference, the programme, which holds in Port Harcourt, would begin with a special gospel concert by a yet to be named artist on October 4. It would end with a memorial lecture and unveiling of a foundation in their honour on October 5.

    They said the event, besides being a means to honour their late children, would serve as a means to foster their campaign against extra judicial killings in the country, poor security situation and un-conducive learning environment on the campuses, with the aim of preventing a reccurrence of what happened to theirs sons.

    To this end, the lecture’s topic would border on effective and innovative on-campus security, affordable on-campus hostel accommodation and societal values/morals, which is part of the objectives of the foundation.

    The document, which was signed on behalf of the four parents by Mr. Toku Mike and Chief Friday Elkanah, parents of Lloyd and Tekena, was read by Mr. Anthony Oguche.

  • Four slain youths haunt Aluu

    Four slain youths haunt Aluu

    It is difficult to believe a multiple murder once took place at the dumpsite but the indigenes swore that was the exact spot where the four students of the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) were stripped naked, beaten with logs of wood, machetes and other dangerous weapons before being set ablaze.

    The murderous crowd that gathered around the four boys on October 5, last year, as they begged for their lives had demanded their blood and got it. They were allegedly supervised by a group of policemen who ensured mob justice was carried out. But on August 11, almost a year after that ugly scene played out at the dumpsite, all that remained of the murder site were heaps of refuse and tall grasses.

    “Yes, this is the spot where the boys were killed; even then it was a refuse dump but all these grasses were not there then, it grew this year. Not many people like to come here again because there are talks that the spirits of the boys are haunting people who came there. In the night, nobody will stay around here,” Muhammed Rasheed, a commercial motorcycle operator, said.

    A man with mental illness soon appeared and as if daring the spirit of what is now known as the “Aluu 4”, went straight to the spot where the victims were burnt and began to urinate. Few passersby noticed him and even fewer bothered to look at him the second time. After he was done, he began to scavenge on the dumpsite and soon disappeared into the adjourning forest.

    For almost a year, the people of Omuokiri Aluu, one of the nine villages that make up the Aluu clan, have had to live with their inglorious past following the brutal killing of Tekena Elkanah (20), Chiadaka Odinga (20), Ugunna Obuzor (18) and Llyod Toku (19) on October 5, 2012. The four Uniport students had gone to claim a debt in community but were falsely accused of being robbers and in an instance of mad rage were murdered.

    The reprisal attack from the students saw destruction of gigantic proportion visited upon the community. According to some indigenes, over 100 cars were burnt and several houses destroyed. For several days, the community was deserted as the police and students visited their anger on both the guilty and the innocent. Fear and chaos reigned in the community.

    A year after, the fear seemed to have assumed a frightening dimension. From Choba junction, any visitor will need the services of Hausa commercial motorcycle operators to get to the community. Immediately one enters the community, an unprecedented silence seemed to reign.

    Men and women walked briskly to wherever was their destination and the usual excitement that characterised a cosmopolitan town like Aluu was absent.

    But Omuokiri Aluu is not a village as outsiders are wont to believe. A single tarred road ran across the nine communities from Choba. By Nigerian standards, it was a well constructed road; one that should bring prosperity to the town but this was not to be as the town depended sorely on the generosity of the university. Most of the residents also work at the university while others content themselves selling everyday products in shops built on both sides of the road.

    But like the silence, which has descended on the town, so also has the residents decided to keep sealed lips over the incident, which has put their town in the spotlight.

    Standing on the spot of the murder brings an eerie feeling.

    Just behind the dumpsite, was a road that led to a street where beautiful houses were built as hostels for university students.

    The indigenes did not appreciate any enquiry about the incident and they immediately gave a ‘dirty’ look and walked away. Others looked at the questioner and put on a horrified look as if they had seen an apparition and walked away. Some simply mumbled about the detention of the community leader and also walked away.

    “This town is still very tough, not many people will talk to you because everybody is bitter and we don’t know who is a robber and who is innocent, please be careful as you ask questions,” a man, who operates a food joint and identified as Michael, warned.

    Some prominent indigenes, such as writer Elechi Amadi have said those who killed the boys were the strangers who live in a part of Aluu.

    Michael corroborated this theory.

    “Omuokiri indigenes are in the minority here, from Coca-Cola bus stop all the way down to the murder area is inhabited by strangers, students and other people. You cannot find an indigene living there and it’s unfortunate the whole community is being labeled killers,” he said.

    There seemed to be some truth in this as a section of the town appeared to be inhabited by “strangers” who bought land from the indigenes. This group includes the Igbo, Hausa, Akwa Ibomites and other Rivers tribes. The best houses can be found in this area and it seemed to be the exact opposite of the area inhabited by the indigenes.

    With increased population came crime. According to many of the residents, the presence of the students, the activities of cultists and the recent resettlement of former militants in the area have contributed to the porous security in the town.

    The Nation learnt that when the militants came, they refused to live in their apportioned houses, engaged in extortion and harassment of residents.

    The police were hard pressed. The division responsible for the town is 15 kilometers away in Isiokpo, though there is a division three kilometers away. Recently, a police post was established in the town but residents lament “the police are so incompetent few people know of their existence.”

    “Robbery is rife here; there is almost no house where the robbers have not operated. They climb through the roof and into your shop to steal all your goods. One man from Akwa- Ibiom died recently of heart attack when his store was burgled, the robbery is too much,” Michael said.

    “The time they robbed my shop they passed through the roof and carted away everything here. I just lost my husband so you know how difficult it was for me, we are all tired of the robbers,” Mrs. Sunny Amaehule, an indigene said.

    That was the situation in the town when the four Uniport students went on their ill-fated mission. Due to the tension which had built up in the town, the mob believed it had found the ringleaders of those who terrorised the community. According to one of the elders, the police were already tired of the robberies and terrorism and that influenced their behaviour at the scene of the murder.

    The town is paying dearly for it. Aside the despicable image created in the international community, business has been affected. The community head, Hassan Walema has been in police detention since the incident and the town is ruled with fear.

    “We have lost a lot; we do not find it funny that people think we are killers. What happened was a result of the tension created by the insecurity in the town, we want the world to know Aluu people are peace loving people,” said an elder who craved anonymity.

    According to investigations, real estate industry has suffered tremendously. In the town, most of the houses for rent are uninhabited as the students left the community in droves afraid of reprisal attacks from the indigenes. It was also learnt that the area inhabited by the “strangers” has seen the most drop in business.

    The Nation counted 22 houses which have been up for let but seen no customers. “The houses here used to be more expensive than the natives but now it’s cheaper and nobody would even rent it. A 3-bedroom flat here is now N50, 000 per year but all of them are still empty,” a student of Uniport, who identified herself as Janet, said.

    But one cannot miss the large number of churches in Omuokiri Aluu. When The Nation visited the Salem Foundation Faith Church, the Rev. Cyrus George Godson was preaching. He spoke of the end of times; of the rapture and the fate of the unbelievers.

    Across the street, 300 metres away at the Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel, the pastor, Attat John Bishop, prayed for Aluu and called on God to bring peace upon the community.

    “After the incident, the churches here came together for prayers on behalf of the community. I have only been here four months but I can say this town has been peaceful, it’s like nothing has happened. Business is going on and God has taken control,” Bishop said.

    The prayers of the churches have done little to allay the fears in Omuokiri Aluu.

    “The fear of robbers and militants rank high and nobody is advised to visit the community after dark,” Michael revealed.

    But despite their challenges, the indigenes try to enjoy whatever is left of their battered community life. On Sunday morning, the town went to church and in the afternoon the men returned to their bars to drink accompanied by laughter and loud gospel music. And as soon as the sun set, they retreated into the fortress of their homes bolting their doors. But the next day the circle returns, as vicious as the unchanging image of Aluu as the town of killers.

    An elder, Fim Sampson, said the king never ordered the killing.

    He said: “As a native of Omuokiri, I can tell you that the chief never gave the order for anybody to be killed. The police picked him up because he is the head and he will be freed after the investigation.

    “I am happy the police have made arrests and I recommend those found guilty should be prosecuted. It’s unfortunate it happened here; we wish the parents of the children to know this community played no part in the death of their children. That day was a week day, our people have gone to work. Coca-cola bus stop is our boundary with the strangers. That area used to be a large farmland now occupied by strangers. How could four young men be killed by a community and expect to have peace? In Aluu, we have professionals, lecturers, professors, military men who live here; we are enlightened people and we would never have killed anybody neither did our chief order any killing. We want the world to know Aluu people are not killers, we are saddened by that incident and we commiserate with the families of the students. But we didn’t do it.”

  • Jonathan seeks peace between Uniport, Aluu

    Jonathan seeks peace between Uniport, Aluu

    •Amaechi endows chairs for Tukur, others

    President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the management of University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) to create avenue for more research on conflict management and resolution for the peaceful co-existence between host communities and the university, including the oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region.

    Jonathan, who condemned the murder of the four students of UNIPORT by the host community (Aluu) in October last year, said he is highly interested in the peace of the region which is a factor for the development of the Niger Delta region.

    The President, who was represented by the Minister of Education Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i spoke at the university’s 29th convocation at Choba, the main campus of the university during which the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi endowed five professorial chairs.

    Speaking conflict resolution, Prof Rufa’i said: “I want to inform you that President Jonathan is highly interested in the peace of the Niger Delta region, if the region must achieve development, then we must work together to achieve a conflict- free region that will allow smooth operation of companies in the region.

    “The university is another platform to achieve this goal; I strongly believe you are aware we are in the era of innovation and research, we are calling on the university to focus more on how to resolve conflict among communities and oil companies in the region through conflict management and resolution.

    “Let me remind you that that the Federal Government shows regret over the murder of the four students of this university; this is the more reason we should be conscious of internal security.”

    During the event, Governor Amaechi announced the endowment of five chairs on behalf of the government, naming them after four prominent citizens of the state – Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte (rtd), Prof. Tekena Tamuno, Prof Tam David-West, Prof. Otonti Nduka, and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the National Chairman of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Amaechi who spoke during the event, said the state government would fund the endowments even after he leaves office.

    The governor said: “I want to endow a Chair that will be named after Justice Karibi-Whyte in the Faculty of Law. Another Chair on History and Society to be named after Prof Tekena Tamuno. I also want to endow a Chair to be named after Prof. Tam David-West; and finally, a Chair in Education and Culture to be named after Prof Otonti Odunka.

    “Again, when I say I, that I represent me as the governor of Rivers State. I just want to make sure that the Rivers State Government is able to fund these chairs; that is why I am not making it personal because even when I leave, the Ministry of Education should be able to get my successor to fund it. Let us also endow a Chair not for politics or public governance but for business named after Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.”

    Amaechi also promised to build an ultra-modern convocation arena for the university to be named after Chief Damian Nweje, who Amaechi said, showed great determination in acquiring university education.

    “I have so many heroes and I have acquired one today, a very brand new hero – Chief Damian Nweje. I have never believed that anybody has struggled more than me until I met this gentleman today as a graduate of University of Port Harcourt. I met him in politics, business, uneducated, and with no degree or certificate. I never thought in my life that I would see him with a degree. I nearly wept seeing him sitting down here and I realised that there were more determined persons. For that reason, I would name a structure that I believe we should build for the university after him,” he said.

     

  • Aluu, Mubi and off-campus residences

    In the early 90s, I watched a report on the brutal Liberian civil war by ace NTA reporter Godfrey Odu. In that report he recounted the story of two Liberian rebel fighters arguing about the position of a baby in the womb; the argument got heated and the only way it could be “resolved” was to get a pregnant woman, rip her womb open and find the “true position” of a baby in the womb! The rebels eventually did that as relayed by Odu in his bid to drive home the point of how brutal and senseless that civil war was.

    So when on Friday, October 5, 2012, I read, and later watched four undergraduates from the University of Port-Harcourt, Biringa Chiadika Lordson, Ugonna Kelechi Obusor, Mike Lloyd Toku and Tekena Erikena being murdered in cold blood by some inhabitants of Omuokiri village in Aluu community of Ikwere Local Government Area of Rivers State, about three kilometers to the institution’s main campus over an alleged theft of a laptop computer and Blackberry phone. As I watched the video clip against my will, the question that popped into my mind was which of them “stole” the laptop and phone? Or was it the four of them that jointly “stole” the gadgets? These questions were necessary because listening to the background conversation points to the notion that it may be something other than the “stealing” of a laptop and phone. It was therefore not out of place that I feel what I felt when I first saw the Liberian report; horror. I was actually writing my piece on the Mubi massacre last week when the news broke.

    What makes this story unbelievable and shocking was the fact that it was filmed; some of the “spectators” that witnessed the gory incident can be seen with their mobile phones recording every bit of the spectacle. In a premeditated and calculated act, the Aluu 4, as they are now known, were stripped naked, marched through town, beaten to a pulp and set ablaze by the “mob.” As expected, reactions was swift and damning, compelling the Senate president, Senator David Mark to have a rethink on a very thorny issue in political discourse, the need for a State police in the country.

    I later read an account of the sister of one of the victims which I found instructive; she alleged that while her brother and his friends were being killed, three policemen had reportedly arrived and had, instead of intervening to save the lives of the “accused persons” and subsequently bring them to justice, they were alleged to have urged the mob to, “burn them alive”.

    There was obviously nothing that the mob, the policemen and those filming with their mobile phone saw as untoward or dastardly in taking away lives which they could never give. It must have appeared very “normal” to all that people jeered, ululated and savoured what they had seen and regarded as a good spectacle to spice the start of their weekend! This is nothing short of the collective loss of our common humanity.

    This barbaric and highly condemnable act that is reminiscent of the Stone Age came only a few days after Mubi and has raised serious concerns over off-campus residences for undergraduates. Would these undergraduates have been so gruesomely murdered if they had residences within the four walls of the ivory tower?

    The emergence and growth of commercial off-campus students’ housing across mainly Nigerian public universities towns are recent but significant phenomena stimulated by student population explosion and prevailing lull in on-campus Students’ housing development. In the past, students’ housing was traditionally and almost exclusively on-campus. With time, however, student population explosion and paradigm shift in university on-campus accommodation policy combined to give rise to spontaneous development of commercial off-campus Students’ housing (hostel) in university towns across the country.

    This development was further compounded by the growing shortage of funds in the university system at a time when there was an increase in the proportion of total expenditure devoted to education. The government, over the years, has not been meeting the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation of 26% of the total budget allocation to education sector. The paucity of fund available to the university system has been responsible for declining library, accommodation, social and laboratory facilities in recent years. This in no small way makes the governance of the university system a herculean task. This was when private developers and home owners in university towns rose to the occasion and started providing houses to fill the shortfall with its attendant repercussions.

    Since almost all of the off-campus residences are not seen as the extension of the universities, most became safe haven for criminal activities both from undergraduates and those associated with them. Some of the incidences of cult activities that take place emanates from such off-campus residences where security is often lax. In addition to the question I posed earlier, I’d like to add: Given our present predicament of shortage of on-campus residences, is there anything university authorities can do to closely monitor these off-campus residences and see how they can be viewed as an unofficial extension of the campus?

    I strongly believe that the probability of the incidences happening on any campus in Nigeria is really slim. No matter the gravity of the “crime” one or two voices of reason would have been able to calm the nerves of any blood thirsty mob on campus. I would like to see a situation where Vice Chancellors take it upon themselves to open constant channels of communication with communities that host a large proportion of their students. Measures should also be put in place to regularly gauge the student-host community relationship to nib similar incident in the bud.

    But in the midst of this, we should not be lost in the fact that what we read and watched penultimate is not an isolated incident. I have heard stories of six-inch nails being driven into the head of thieves caught in action; I’ve also heard from witnesses how thieves and pick pockets were summarily executed in major cities in Nigeria. So, rather than crucify the entire Aluu community, it cannot be said that extra-judicial executions are the cultural or behavioural preserve of any part of this country. There are still good people in Aluu.

    This notwithstanding, the horrible video of the killing in a country with a government and security agencies is a big shame to Nigeria. It is the latest confirmation that human life is of little or no value in the country. It also shows that all those responsible for security and administration of that area did not play the role expected of them. The excuse given by IGP Abubakar that “Attempts made by the police patrol team to take over the suspects were met with stiff opposition from the mob, who chased the team with stones” is both absurd and preposterous and thus cannot hold water. This latest incident is probably the effect of the frequent killings going on in the country. It would appear that people no longer think anything of the taking of life. Life has simply lost its sanctity.

    Unfortunately, this is the sad lesson that Nigerians, including the youths, are taking away from the mindless killings going on in the country. This type of barefaced, extra-judicial murder will not happen in any country with a responsible government, and in which lawbreakers are sure to be brought to justice. But, in a country where people know that they can get away with any crime, no matter how serious, dastardly incidents such as these are bound to occur. it is high time that those who wish to see the good of this country and stem the steady slide toward bestiality stand up and be counted.

     

  • Aluu killing: 13 suspects charged with conspiracy, murder

    Aluu killing: 13 suspects charged with conspiracy, murder

    The Rivers police command on Wednesday arraigned 13 suspects before a Port Harcourt Magistrates’ Court, charged with conspiracy and murder of four students of the University of Port Harcourt.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that suspects were arraigned on a five-count charge of murder, felony, conspiracy, lynching, and burning.

    Prosecuting police Adiari Idafi told the court, presided over by Magistrate Emma Woke, that the accused on October 5, allegedly murdered Chiadika Lordson, Ugonna Kelechi Obusor, Mike Lloyd Toku and Tekena Elkanah.

    Idafi named the accused as Hassan Welewa, (59), Lawal Segun (28), Lucky Orji (43), Cynthia Chinwo (24), and Ekpe Daniel (30).

    Others are George Nwadei (20), Gabriel Oche (33), Ozioma Abajuo (23), Chigozie Evans Samuel (22), Endurance Edet (27) and Endurance Okoghiroh (24).

    Also arraigned were David Chinasa Ugbaje (30) and Ikechukwu Louis Amadi, alias Kapoon (32).

    Idafi stated that the offence was punishable under Section 324 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Laws of River State, Nigeria, 1999, and Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol. III laws of Rivers State, Nigeria, 1999.

    The accused were asked by the court if they understood the charges and they consented, but no pleas were taken.

    The magistrate ordered that the accused be remained in police custody for further investigation, and adjourned the case till December 20, for further hearing.

     

  • Aluu killings: Rep restates call for state police

    •’Their deaths could have been avoided’

    The Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Mr. Dakuku Peterside, has condemned the killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Aluu, Rivers State.

    Dakuku, in a statement, said the killing showed that the country cannot continue to run away from state police.

    He said: “Whatever the reason, the truth is that the Uniport 4 represented hope and the future, not just for their respective families and communities, but for the entire country. So for whatever reason, these are needless deaths that could have been avoided and this sordid act should be condemned by all men of goodwill.

    “I understand Aluu and some neighbouring communities had been under siege for some time. In fact, the state of insecurity in the area had deteriorated so badly that the people had resorted to self-help. “Consequently, they formed vigilance groups with absolute powers and the death of these boys is a direct consequence of that ill-advised move. Therefore, to all intent and purposes, Aluu was actually a disaster waiting to happen. But should this brand of jungle justice be visited on the Uniport 4 in the first instance?

    “Again, are we such a depraved people? Where are the good men of Aluu? This is definitely not what I know of Aluu, a once peaceful neighbourhood. Did they just watch while evil was perpetrated or were they simply intimidated?

    “Security is at the centre of this latest national calamity and we must not pretend about it. The Aluu incident is clearly a failure of the state security apparatus to arrest a deteriorating security situation that prevailed in the town for several months, leading to frustration of the people, who resorted to self- help.

    “The police failed to rise up to the occasion, even though the crime under consideration lasted about two hours. This failure drew substantially from the police’s obsolete communication gadgets and their slow response.

    These are issues we had raised severally, but no one listened.

    “Quite expectedly, most of the eyewitness accounts alleged that while the murderous game was going on in Aluu, two police patrol vehicles were sighted around the scene, yet their presence did not make any difference. A source I do not doubt even claimed that the police pulled over and left without any attempt to save the embarrassing situation.

    “If what happened in Aluu could happen in Rivers, a model state in terms of security, then there is cause for alarm. This is a warning sign we cannot afford to ignore.

    “Those opposed to state police for some reasons are beginning to see the need for further dialogue. The Aluu killings would not have happened, if there was state police.

    “The arguments against state police usually dissolve in the face of logic. Police cannot be a platform for national integration and this must be emphasised. And around the world, there are not too many examples of successful policing in federal states.

    “Antagonists of state police are also quick to cite the concentration of power in one single man (the governor), discriminatory tendencies, interstate rivalry and even jungle justice like the macabre dance in Aluu as its disadvantages.

    “Strangely, the advantages of state police outweigh its disadvantages. The truth is that the federal police as constituted today lacks capacity and resources and is too bureaucratic. These explain why they are easily overwhelmed.

    “I think some Nigerians are beginning to appreciate the fact that state police would be well-funded. There is also the advantage of capacity-building. There will be enough manpower and this will engender healthy rivalry.

    “Adequate knowledge of the territory would prompt quick responses to distress calls because policemen would be indigenes of the state. I know that despite these advantages, abuse could still occur. That is why a mechanism of control should be instituted at the centre to subordinate to some extent, the activities of the state police.

    “If we achieve the clamour for state police, a measure of frustration will leave our governors, who will then truly act as chief security officers.”

     

  • Eastern Bar Forum condemns Aluu killings

    Eastern Bar Forum condemns Aluu killings

    THE Eastern Forum (EBF) at its meeting in Enugu, at the

    weekend, condemned the killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt in Aluu, Rivers State.

    It strongly condemned the killings, urging the government to fish out the perpetrators of the act and bring them to book. The forum described the loss of the four students as irreparable and called on the government to intervene immediately to alleviate the sufferings of their families through monetary compensation and award of scholarships to their family members. It stated that money cannot buy life and no life can be quantified in monetary terms.

    The forum observed a minute silence in honour of the Aluu four and those who lost their lives in the various floods across the country.

    Unfortunately, while presiding over the meeting, the EBF chairman and NBA former legal adviser, Kemasuode Wodu received a massage that flood had taken over his house in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    He urged governments to take steps to stem flooding, which has claimed many lives and property.

    Wodu said the floods have wreaked havoc on many including him.

    Said he: “It took me more than 14 hours to travel from Yenagoa to Enugu for the EBF meeting .

    “I left Yenagoa at 9.am, travelling through Ndiama in Bayelsa State on the East West Road to Ahoada, Elele, Okigwe to Enugu. I did not get to Enugu until 11 p.m. The roads were terribly bad, there was flood everywhere. At a point, we had to divert and take to bush paths and had to face the threat of armed robbery. It was, indeed, terrible and tortuous.”

    The EBF set up three committees as follows: A committee to resolve the persistent and lingering crisis between the government of Abia State and Aba branch of the NBA. Governor of Abia State Chief Theodore Orji had pointed this unhealthy state of affairs out when the EBF visited him during its last meeting in Umuahia.

    The committee has Chief Joe Agi (SAN) as chairman; Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN) – member; Arthur Chukwuma of Oji River is the secretary.

    The committee has 30 days to complete its assignment and report back to the forum.

    The second committee is to look into the crisis rocking the Awka branch of the NBA. The committee was mandated to resolve the problems and report back to the Forum within 14 days.

    It has former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Imo State, Ken Njemanze, as chairman; former NBA Uyo branch chairman Essien Essien – member and the immediate past chairman, NBA Enugu branch, Nnenna Uko, -secretary.

    The governing council of the forum was mandated to constitute a committee of independent- minded members to look into, investigate and recommend appropriate sanctions for members who disobeyed, betrayed and failed to abide by the resolutions of the forum at the last NBA elections.

    There were reported cases of disloyalty among EFF members which almost threatened the victory of its adopted candidates in the last election. The forum is bent on addressing this and sanction all involved to serve as a deterrent to others.

    The meeting, which held at Osuoby Centre, Enugu, was attended by members of the forum including NBA President Okey Wali (SAN), Chief Anthony Mugbo (SAN), National Treasurer of NBA Joyce Oduah; Second Assistant Secretary U.F.O Nnaemeke and National Publicity Secretary Afam Obi, among others.

  • Wild, wild country

    Wild, wild country

    We must make life count

    The two killing incidents, set apart by just four days, were as horrifying as the word can be. The one took place in the night when the day’s work was done and many had retired to bed; the other happened in broad daylight. On Independence Day, in Mubi, the second biggest town in Adamawa State, and its commercial nerve, students of the Federal Polytechnic sited there were in their hostel when guns began to boom. They sounded near at first, said one student; soon the gunmen drew nearer, still shooting. Panic gripped the hostel community. Everyone hurried into their rooms and locked their doors. But the visitors were on a mission they must accomplish. They kicked the doors open, shot and killed one student after another. At the end of the operation, over 40 students, according to some accounts, lay dead. The incident threw the polytechnic community into imaginable trauma. Friends and families of the dead were left in the deepest grief. The nation was in a daze, while the entire world stood stupefied.

    That was one wild night in the Northeast of the country.

    Four days later, and down south in Aluu, where the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is located, four students of the institution faced the grimmest ordeal of their lives, none of them surviving to relive it. They were stripped naked and beaten until there was no life left in them. Finally, their bodies were burnt.

    That was another wild outing.

    Some reports blamed the Mubi attack on fundamentalists, while in Aluu, residents were said to have done the job.

    Both incidents, not forgetting the killings in a Kano school within the same period, have sharpened up a whole new, horrifying angle in the country’s insecurity challenges. Schools have been attacked before, only now, there seems to be more boldness in taking on larger numbers of Nigeria’s young people secluded for the purpose of study. We must worry about the ease with which assailants invade our schools and kill young people being groomed for leadership. Our educational profile may not lift our spirits but we must worry when students are wasted. More fundamentally, we must worry when lives are wasted by people who neither have the sanction of the creator to do so nor the authority of the law of man. We must worry when mobs become accusers, prosecutors, judges and executioners in one fell swoop, as in the case of the Uniport Four, who were reportedly accused of stealing laptop computers and mobile phones.

    Reports said a crowd watched with interest, even applauding, as the four, all below 22, were tortured to death and their corpses set ablaze. What do you make of such a scene and such an act? Such brutalities attack every claim we make to civility, and rebrand us a wild, wild nation.

    Mob action or jungle justice did not start in Aluu, to be sure. All over the country, people have faced instant death at the hands of streetwalkers and bystanders, and for even the pettiest of offences. But for me, one nasty thing about such brand of justice is that the people dispensing it may be woefully unqualified for the job. Some who clobber mob victims to death may actually be thieves themselves. We can tell from the mob which was eager to slay a certain adulteress caught in the act.

    But there are weightier concerns about jungle justice. It questions the character and professionalism of the police, the outfit whose responsibility it is to sort out civil disorders. How was it that a mob tortured and killed four undergraduates, then set their corpses on fire, an operation that must have lasted hours, without the police getting any wind of it? What do you make of such police? Again, why are people better disposed to taking the law into their own hands rather than reporting their concerns to law enforcers? Why has confidence in the police waned?

    It is perhaps naive to conclude that the Aluu executioners were inspired by the assailants in Mubi simply because of the short space of time between them, but it is safe to say that unlawful killings, of which Nigeria has quite a pile, if not punished, pave the way for more of such barbaric illegalities. Heaps of files of unsolved murders are still with the police, as are bunches of reports on bloody communal and sectarian crises with government. Hope may have died out on those files being reopened or the murderers being brought to justice, and it is just this sort of profile that helps to reduce the value for life in the populace. In time, people with propensity to kill, begin to do so knowing that, as in the past, there is little or no chance of ever being caught and punished. Such scenarios make life seem worthless.

    Everyone has a role to make things better, but people in authority have a bigger responsibility. You can tell if life matters in a local council if the chairman defends one threatened resident with all his soul. It is easy to see if a state or federal government cares for its people if a small endangered community is given the best possible attention.

    Let’s make life count otherwise we are just one wild, wild bunch.

  • Police search for killers of UNIPORT students

    The Police Command in Rivers State has launched a manhunt of the mob that beat to death four male students: Ugonna, Ilyod, Tekana and Chidiaka of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on Friday morning and later set them ablaze, after putting car tyres on their necks, for allegedly  stealing mobile phones and laptops.

    The incident occured at Aluu community, beside UNIPORT, where most of the students who could not secure accommodation on the campus reside.

    Residents of the community have started fleeing to avoid indiscriminate arrest by policemen, especially of innocent persons.

    The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ben Ugwuegbulam, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a telephone interview confirmed that four persons were killed on Friday at Aluu for allegedly  stealing, but could not ascertain if the victims were students of UNIPORT or not.

    Ugwuegbulam also stated that the  police command was investigating the unfortunate incident, while warning residents of the state against taking the law into their own hands.

    The police spokesman urged members of the public to always make useful information about criminals in their midst available to the command, while assuring that their identities would be well protected.

    It was learnt that the owners of the expensive mobile phones, including BlackBerry and the laptops at the off-campus hostel, complained to their friends over the loss of the items, thereby raising the alarm, which attracted indigenes of Aluu and passers-by.

    The missing phones and laptops were later reportedly  traced to the killed students, who were young men in their early 20s, and were said to have denied knowledge of the development. Without being given the opportunity to defend themselves, they were beaten to death and set ablaze by the angry mob.

    The horrible and blood-soaked corpses of the victims were later deposited at the morgue of an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.

    UNIPORT’s Deputy Registrar, Information, Dr. Williams Wodi, when contacted yesterday for his reaction on the incident, said: “Right now, I am not in a position to confirm to you that the alleged victims are bona fide students of UNIPORT, as is being widely speculated.

    “The alleged incident took place at Aluu village, about two kilometres outside our main campus. We do not have responsibility for security in Aluu communities, which are beyond our jurisdiction. The relevant security outfits are working with our security department to establish the true identities of the victims and what actually transpired on the day of the reported incident.

    “The Dean of Student Affairs (of UNIPORT) is also working round the clock to establish their identities as students of UNIPORT. The university will certainly issue a statement once preliminary facts are laid on the table.”