The Anambra State Police Command has been accused of killing one Ikenna Udu who was in their custody for alleged robbery.
According to reports, Udu, who was a driver was arrested and tortured to death by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Awkuzu, in the Oyi Local Government Area of the State.
The family members also lamented that the police unit has failed to release the corpse of the victim to them.
Udu’s wife Mary, alongside her in-law, Chioma Aniebonam, and her husband, Sunday alleged that the police, instead of releasing Udu’s corpse, buried him to coverup their tracks.
The deceased was arrested in September 2022 by armed policemen at his house in Abatete, in the Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.
According to his wife, who spoke on Monday, Udu, alongside three persons were arrested and whisked away to an undisclosed location.
The mother of four said, “It took us up to one week before we were able to know that the policemen came from Awkuzu SARS (SCID Annex). When I took food there for Ikenna and Chidubem, the policemen collected it on their behalf.
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“It was on the second attempt that the policemen told me Ikenna and Chidubem had been remanded in the Onitsha Custodial Centre. So, I visited the facility to see both of them, but surprisingly, it was only Chidubem I saw. When I asked after my husband, Chidubem told me he was dead.”
Also narrating her version of the incident, Ikenna’s sister, Chioma, said two of her brothers were arrested after a neighbour alleged in a petition that the duo, alongside two others, stormed his house with weapons and robbed him of his property.
Chioma’s husband, Sunday, said when family members visited the man that wrote the petition against his in-laws, he demanded N1.5m for settlement.
Sunday, however, said policemen at the SCID Annex demanded N200,000 to release his in-laws on bail, adding that they were planning to raise the money when Ikenna died.
He said, “The police didn’t inform us that Ikenna had died; what we just heard was that they charged them to court. We also gathered that another person was used to represent Ikenna in court and they were all remanded in prison. But when Chidubem informed us that his brother died in police custody, we returned to the SARS office in Awkuzu to demand Ikenna’s corpse, and they started acting shady.”
In a bid to get justice, Sunday said the family secured the services of a lawyer, Chike Nonyelu, who petitioned the SCID Annex in the Oyi Local Government Area of the state regarding the matter.
Sunday said, “The police later told us that Ikenna’s corpse had been buried. I visited the Awkuzu SARS with a friend who knew Ikenna, to demand his corpse, but the police refused me entry.
“My friend was allowed to enter because he knew some of the policemen; he went in to confirm Ikenna’s corpse, but he said the corpse that was dug out was that of another person. He said the corpse they dug out had no tongue, breast, and private parts.
“We complained but the policemen pursued us out of their office. I want the world to know about this story because I have never seen that kind of a thing before in my life.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenganyia Anthony, has been avoiding all attempts to get his version of the incident.