The Delta Police Command has been accused of killing an orphan, bricklayer and fisherman, Jideovo Anekwe, not a kidnapper as the police claimed.
Lamenting the painful loss, a relative of the deceased said that Anekwe aged 45, who hails from Umuoba Anam, Anambra State lost his father early in 2023 and his mother in October, same year; the mother has not been laid to rest, according to tradition.
He said, “Jideovo Anekwe is never a criminal. He is a known fisherman and bricklayer. Now, his little children, wife and only sister are left to suffer without a bread winner”.
Another source told this medium that the Delta State anti-kidnapping unit went to look for an alleged criminal in the neighbourhood where Anekwe’s cousin lives.
Anekwe and his cousin whom he visited, heard noise at the gate, became afraid, thinking it was armed robbers.
According to the source, there was nothing to identify that the people at the gate were policemen because they were not wearing police uniform and their vehicles were not police vehicles. “The landlord has three dogs that started barking. The Police started shooting, killing Anekwe and one of the dogs and took the body away, ” he said.
It was learnt that the alleged original suspect who lives in a next compound ran through Anekwe’s cousin’s compound into another place and disappeared into the street.
Police claim that Anekwe and his cousin were kidnappers and wanted to attack them with knife and dogs. However, an insider who pleaded anonymity said the killing of Anekwe maybe in error but the Police will not accept it because of the implications.
Meanwhile, this medium learnt that Anekwe before his untimely death, went to his cousin’s house to collect school fees for his children but had to sleep over in his cousin’s house because it was late. It was around 2am that the incident occurred.
The family and friends are calling for intervention of the public to ensure that Anekwe’s undeserved death is not swept under the carpet and his dependants thrown into unnecessary suffering.
