IGP team quizzes four cops over Enugu student’s murder
The Inspector-General of Police’s team investigating the killing of a final year Law student of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Augustine Ugwu, has quizzed four policemen allegedly involved in the murder.
Police sources told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that the policemen were the officer in-charge of the Nsukka Anti-Cult Unit, DSP Nnamdi Ochin, and three sergeants under him, Emmanuel Ibiam, Godwin Abel and Abu John.
Sources told PUNCH Metro that the policemen were quizzed at the headquarters of the command on Wednesday for their involvement in the death of the undergraduate.
One of the sources said the four policemen would be moved to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, next week after the team might have concluded its investigation.
It was gathered that the 27-year-old Ugwu, who hailed from Benue State but was living with his parents in Nsukka, was arrested on April 23, 2020, by a local anti-cultism group set up by the late Chairman of the Nsukka Local Government Area, Patrick Omeje.
Augustine was said to have been handed over to Ochin, but since then, the whereabouts of the undergraduate had remained unknown. This led the family to accuse Ochin of killing their son for no just cause.
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Augustine’s father, Andy, a retired police officer, subsequently petitioned the IG, Mohammed Adamu, who set up a six-man panel led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gabriel Elaigbwu, to investigate the killing.
The team was said to have arrived Enugu on Tuesday and recovered the body of the victim from where it was dumped.
When contacted on the telephone, Andy confirmed that four policemen from the Nsukka Anti-Cult Unit were quizzed on Wednesday by the IG team that was investigating the murder of his son.
Andy noted that the Divisional Crime Officer, Nsukka, Adu Peter, who allegedly ordered the local anti-cult group to arrest his son, was also quizzed for labelling Augustine a notorious criminal without any record of his involvement in criminal activities in the area or elsewhere.
While expressing satisfaction with the investigation, Andy said the team took him to where his son’s corpse was dumped, adding, “Without the IG team, I wouldn’t have seen the body of my son. They have not released the corpse to me yet because they have to conduct an autopsy.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the state police command on the arrest were unsuccessful as the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Abdurrahma, and the spokesperson, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, did not pick their calls as the phones rang out.
