The
brutal killing of Delsu student, Ify Gabriel Nwainokpor & friend…
On Sunday 21st July 2013, Ify Gabriel
Nwainokpor and his friend Kasim were attacked and beaten to death by a mob at
the Ajara area of Badagry on the ground that their faces looked strange in the
neighborhood, this is according to the people who posted the video of their
lynching on Youtube.
They claim that the Nigerian Police (Badagry
division) watched as these men were hacked to death before their prime. They
are crying out to the world for justice and brought the barbaric incident to
the attention of the media. Another lynching? This is unbelievable.
I would not advise it but if you have the heart
to watch, then find the mob video HERE ...and find a comprehensive report of the
sad incident from Punch after the cut...
Policemen attached to the Badagry Police
Division, Lagos State, and some hoodlums have been accused of killing a
25-year-old undergraduate of Delta State University, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor,
and his friend, identified simply as Kazeem.
An eight-minute video clip of the gruesome
killing, which was made available to PUNCH Metro, showed the two victims
handcuffed together. They were covered in their own blood and beaten to death
with sticks. Tyres were also put round their necks.
An irate mob could be seen in the video, shouting,
“die, die, burn them, burn them.”
At some points in the video, a policeman was
seen interviewing the boys. He asked who sent them (victims) to rob the area,
an accusation they denied. One of the hoodlums, holding a sharp object
attempted to cut off the private part of one of the victims.
Nwainokpor could be seen pleading with the
hoodlums and policemen to spare his life, saying he could identify himself if
given a chance. His plea, however, fell on deaf ears.
Our correspondent, who visited the family of
Nwainokpor on Tuesday, learnt that the
lynching took place around 3pm on July 21, 2013 in Ajara area of Badagry, a
community not far from Nwainokpor’s family home.
His father, Samuel, told PUNCH Metro that his
son was arrested while passing through a street in the area but a misunderstanding later ensued and the
hoodlums pounced on him and Kazeem.
He added that
Nwainokpor, who was nicknamed Ify, was a final year student of Geology
and Mining.
He said, “On that particular day, I was in
Ghana when I received a telephone call
that I should come immediately. My wife was in Delta State taking care
of her mother.
“When I arrived two days later, my relatives
and the caretaker of my house told me that my son was killed in the Ajara area
along with his friend. I was devastated.
“I got my son a temporary job with a Customs
licensed agent since their lecturers were on strike. He worked everyday except on Sundays when he
visited his friends. On that day, he went to see Kazeem and they were strolling
around Ajara.”
Samuel said because there had been a robbery in
Ajara four days earlier, some of the residents were on the lookout for strange
faces.
He added that when the youth saw two unknown young men, they accosted them and an argument ensued.
He said the youth called the head of the
vigilante group in the area, one Asiribo.
He said, “Asiribo came to the scene with a
locally-made pistol and handcuffs. He handcuffed my son and his friend before
asking them questions.
“Later, it was decided that the boys be taken to
the Baale, Agano Oniyon of Agamade Ajara. But as they were going, Asiribo,
while trying to return his gun into its pouch, mistakenly shot himself in the
stomach and died.”
Samuel said Asiribo’s death infuriated the
youth, who blamed the boys for his death.
“The mob picked up sticks and beat them to
death. Policemen were there,” he said.
Holding back tears, the retired immigration
officer added that the police treated
the matter as a robbery case. Beating
his chest, Samuel said there was
no way his son would have been involved in
armed robbery.
He said, “I have been living in Badagry since
1982. I have only two children and Ifechukwude
is the first. Ironically, he was
born in that same area where he was killed.
“I have lived in this area without any trouble
and the residents can tell you that my sons are good boys.”
Nwainokpor’s boss, Aloysius Onyenibedi,
described him as an honest and hardworking person.
“I trusted him to the extent that I used to
keep a lot of money with him. He was good to my children and was honest,” he
said.
The Nwainokpor family berated the Divisional
Police Officer, Badagry Police Station,
Dankoli Mohammed, for the manner he treated the case.
Samuel said when he approached the DPO, he was
told that his son was killed at midnight for armed robbery.
He said, “When the policemen came to take the
corpses, guns were planted on them. Policemen at the station told the DPO that
they were robbers. Their corpses were taken along with that Asiribo to Badagry
General Hospital’s mortuary.
“The following morning, the DPO released
Asiribo’s corpse for burial without investigation. My relatives went to the
station and after showing the DPO the video, the matter was transferred to the
Area K Command.
“At Present, Asiribo’s son has fled, while the
DPO has been unable to identify the policemen who were present at the scene
when my son and his friend were killed.”
PUNCH Metro however learnt that through the
video, some people had arrested one of the perpetrators. The suspect had been
transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba.
The spokesperson for the state police command,
Ngozi Braide, said, “The incident is quite pathetic. Even if they were armed
robbers, no one has the right to take the life of another. Why then do we have
the police and the judiciary? The Nigerian police as well as the law condemn
mob action and jungle justice. The commissioner of police has set up a high-
powered investigation body to investigate the matter.”
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