Police confirm killing of Christian Jacob, ex- Enyimba FC of Aba player

May 9, 2019 

By Ijendu Iheaka

The Police Command in Abia on Thursday confirmed the killing of an ex- Enyimba FC of Aba player, Christian Jacob, by suspected hired killers.

The Police spokesperson in the state, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna told our reporter that the former Enyimba player was killed on Wednesday outside his house on Umuola road, Ogbor Hill, Aba.

A reliable source told our reporter on Thursday that the player had been away for a while before resurfacing in Aba some days ago where he met his untimely death.

The source said that contrary to the information making the rounds on the internet, that Jacob was shot dead by robbers was not true.

He said that the former player was killed by suspected hired killers who shot him and went away without taking his phone or anything from him.

He said that the death of Jacob, nicknamed “Nikita Ara” threw the people of the area into mourning because of his friendliness and popularity with the residents of the area.

Ogbonna said that the police was still investigating the matter adding that no arrest had been made.

He said that the corpse of the former player had been deposited in an undisclosed mortuary. 

Abia CP says extra-judicial killings, lawlessness among police personnel disgraceful to Police Force

May 3, 2019 

By Ijendu Iheaka

The Commissioner of Police (CP) in Abia, Mr Ene Okon, has decried the rate of extra-judicial killings and lawlessness among the police operatives, saying that the development has brought shame to the Police Force.

Okon said this in Aba on Friday while addressing officers and men of Eziama Divisional Police Station in the Aba Area Command.

He therefore warned the police operatives to be cautious with the handling of their fire arms in order not to become victims of its miss use.

He said: “We are suffering from self-inflicted injury. We have deflected our ego.

“We have become subject of ridicule because this gun they bought for us to protect people, we’ve turned to use it for killing innocent people.

“In one or two weeks in Lagos, police killed about four innocent persons and some in a bizarre manner.”

The police boss recounted how some unscrupulous police operatives abused their power, citing the recent killing of a girl who was allegedly returning from a club.

He wondered when going to club became a crime in Nigeria and warned operatives against indiscriminate arrest and attack on innocent citizens.

“The gun you should use for kidnappers and armed robbers, you now turn to use to kill innocent persons.

“This is happening often. By doing this, you are carving a bad image for the police and yet we have a law guiding the use of fire arms’’.

He reminded them that the first day they joined the police, they were told about Force Order 237, which guides policemen on the use of fire arms.

He frowned at the attitude of some policemen, who usually fired shots into the air during an arrest, adding that there was no need for such wastes.

“Even when you are on the range, you’ll always be told to aim your fire on the knee.

“But your own knee has disappeared as all you now see is the heart and head.

“You neglect the existence of Force Order 237 and so I think you must be taught again, if you still don’t understand it.

“I don’t want to hear accidental discharge here in Abia. Extra-judicial killings must be avoided because it dents police image,” Okon said.

He admonished officers and men of the command to be civil with members of the public and treat them with courtesy so that they would get the same respect from the public in return.

He further said that Nigerians had become more enlightened than before.

According to him, most people now know their constitutional rights, hence the need for the police to work in line with constitutional provisions.

He warned them to stop harassing, molesting, abusing and assaulting Nigerians over flimsy reasons.

He charged them to apply the instructions they learnt from the police college in order to avoid the dehumanisation of citizens and degradation of the police.

Okon also urged them to adopt a better and more mature means of extracting information from suspects than beating and dehumanising them.

He encouraged them to study and make themselves conversant with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Police Act and other laws in order to discharge their duties creditably.

Abia CP says extra-judicial killings, lawlessness among police personnel disgraceful to Police Force

May 3, 2019

By Ijendu Iheaka

The Commissioner of Police (CP) in Abia, Mr Ene Okon, has decried the rate of extra-judicial killings and lawlessness among the police operatives, saying that the development has brought shame to the Police Force.

Okon said this in Aba on Friday while addressing officers and men of Eziama Divisional Police Station in the Aba Area Command.

He therefore warned the police operatives to be cautious with the handling of their fire arms in order not to become victims of its miss use.

He said: “We are suffering from self-inflicted injury. We have deflected our ego.

“We have become subject of ridicule because this gun they bought for us to protect people, we’ve turned to use it for killing innocent people.

“In one or two weeks in Lagos, police killed about four innocent persons and some in a bizarre manner.”

The police boss recounted how some unscrupulous police operatives abused their power, citing the recent killing of a girl who was allegedly returning from a club.

He wondered when going to club became a crime in Nigeria and warned operatives against indiscriminate arrest and attack on innocent citizens.

“The gun you should use for kidnappers and armed robbers, you now turn to use to kill innocent persons.

“This is happening often. By doing this, you are carving a bad image for the police and yet we have a law guiding the use of fire arms’’.

He reminded them that the first day they joined the police, they were told about Force Order 237, which guides policemen on the use of fire arms.

He frowned at the attitude of some policemen, who usually fired shots into the air during an arrest, adding that there was no need for such wastes.

“Even when you are on the range, you’ll always be told to aim your fire on the knee.

“But your own knee has disappeared as all you now see is the heart and head.

“You neglect the existence of Force Order 237 and so I think you must be taught again, if you still don’t understand it.

“I don’t want to hear accidental discharge here in Abia. Extra-judicial killings must be avoided because it dents police image,” Okon said.

He admonished officers and men of the command to be civil with members of the public and treat them with courtesy so that they would get the same respect from the public in return.

He further said that Nigerians had become more enlightened than before.

According to him, most people now know their constitutional rights, hence the need for the police to work in line with constitutional provisions.

He warned them to stop harassing, molesting, abusing and assaulting Nigerians over flimsy reasons.

He charged them to apply the instructions they learnt from the police college in order to avoid the dehumanisation of citizens and degradation of the police.

Okon also urged them to adopt a better and more mature means of extracting information from suspects than beating and dehumanising them.

He encouraged them to study and make themselves conversant with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Police Act and other laws in order to discharge their duties creditably.

IG deploys special anti-kidnapping squad to Abia - CP

April 30, 2019

By Ijendu Iheaka

Mr Ene Okon, the Commissioner of Police in Abia, said the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has deployed his Special Technical Squad to assist the Abia command in the fight against kidnapping.

Ene said this at a meeting he held with Aba residents, Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) members and policemen in the divisions under the Aba Area Command on Tuesday.

He said: “Already I have anti-kidnapping team here in Aba. I have fortified them, given them a vehicle, an office accommodation in Aba outside the area command and approved extra manpower for them.

“Let me give you one more cheering news. I was in Abuja after the elections when kidnapping reared up its ugly head here in Aba and I discussed with the IGP.

“Luckily, yesterday, the IGP dispatched his Special Technical Squad to come and meet me in Abia and they are coming with their technical equipment.

“They are coming to cover the whole of Aba and I expect them by next week,” he said, adding that “they are to remain here and fight it out.”

Ene said that crime and criminality escalated in the country after the civil war, pointing out that “since crime and criminality are dynamic, they now require technology to fight, accordingly.”

He said that Section 214 of the Constitution, which established the police, was made by the people, who are members of the community, hence it could be rightly said that the police are owned by the people.

He said that Section 216 assigns the police with the duties to protect lives and property, maintain law and order in the society, adding that the people as “creators of the police have their obligations also to the police.”

He, therefore, called on the people to assist the police perform their duties satisfactorily by being law-abiding, volunteering information and supporting police efforts.

The police boss urged policemen, who he described as “servants to the people,” to treat the people with respect as their paymasters.

He said he would not tolerate acts of indiscipline, crime and criminality, corrupt practices and abuse of citizen’s rights among policemen.

He said that he was made to understand that every policeman in Abia was desirous of serving in Aba in order to engage in corrupt practices and make money, warning that he would soon transfer some of them out of the city.

He urged the police to make discipline their watchword and thanked the PCRC for its immense contribution to the success of the command.

In their separate remarks, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Central Police Station, Aba, DPO, Uratta-Eziukwu and DPO, Ndiegoro, CSP Abii Onyeulor, CSP Princewill Ekeocha, and SP Emeka Oganyi, respectively, thanked the CP for his visit.

They appealed to him to beef up the manpower in their various divisions, provide them with functional patrol vehicles and motorcycles and post more male officers to make their work easier.

In his speech, the Aba Area Commander, ACP Peter Opara, urged the CP to consider the request of the DPOs and help out where possible.