Cop shoots hawker over plantain chips

Written by Boco Edet   

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 23:06

An unidentified police sergeant has been accused of allegedly shooting a hawker, Chimaobi Ihemadu, while attempting to evade paying N600 for plantain chips he collected from the hawker.

A relation of the hawker, Chiendelu, who petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on October 20 the hawker was selling chips at Gwako, along Gwagwalada road in Abuja when a  Honda car  with registration number AH 403 ABC and a Gwagwalada Area Council bus carrying some policemen stopped and he approached them to buy plantain chips.

The relation stated that the policemen initially declined but later beckoned on Ihemadu (the hawker) to come and collect N600 worth of plantain chips but when the hawker asked for his money, one of the police officers alighted from the bus and started shooting sporadically into the air.

“One of the policemen came down from the vehicle and asked Ihemadu why he was disturbing them, before shooting him in the neck,” the relation alleged.

He said after the shooting, the policeman returned their vehicle and they drove away.

The relation said the hawker was rushed to the Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, where he was visited by some police officers sent by the Divisional Police Officer of Gwagwalada Police Station, Charles Mozie and the Secretary of Gwagwalada Area Council, who bought a neck collar and deposited N25,000 for blood transfusion.

He revealed that on October 23, the relation of the policeman that shot the hawker came through the DPO and gave the hawker’s family N40,000 which was rejected.

“The DPO asked us to collect the money as the other party came in peace and are ready to foot the hospital bill,” he stated.

He said the suspected policeman’s family later came back with N10,000 and asked us to add it to the N40,000, adding that it was all they could pay.

“When the hawker’s family demanded to know from the DPO what the police was doing about the case, he informed us that he is the middle man between us and the family of the policeman that shot the hawker,” the relation said.

When City News contacted DPO Mozie, he confirmed the case but said the incident only occurred in Gwagwalada, adding that those linked with the incident were not police officers under his command.

He said the sergeant that shot the boy has since been handed over to the FCT Police Command and is in detention.

Meanwhile our reporter learnt from another relation of the hawker, Chimela Friday, that he is still in the hospital.

The National Human Rights Commission and Abuja Chapter of Nigerian Bar Association have said they would investigate and institute a legal case against the suspected police officer.