Police dismiss police for killing businessman over bribe payment, to face murder charge

A policeman, Obagi Njok, who allegedly shot dead a businessman in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state for allegedly refusing to give a bribe to some police operatives has been dismissed by the authorities.

Penpushing reports that the Abia State Police Command Public Relations Officer Maureen Chinaka disclosed this development in a statement on Wednesday explaining that the officer who is a corporal   and attached to the Abayi Police Divisional Headquarters in the state was later arrested after the incident.

The police spokesperson recalled that the businessman, Emmanuel Okocha who hailed from Abiriba, a community in Ohafia Local Government Area of the state was shot on April 17, 2024, and died two days later in a hospital where he was taken for treatment.

Penpushing further reports that sources disclosed that the operatives who said to have shot him were from the Rapid Response Squad of the police in the state, said to have demanded a bribe from the victim despite having his complete vehicle and driver’s licences.

The police authorities it is recalled on arrest of the alleged killer, assured that the officer would be punished as soon as investigations into the incident were concluded, and in a statement on Wednesday which was an update, Chinaka, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said investigations found Njok guilty of killing the businessman.

“Police Corporal Obagi Njok, as he then was, was found guilty of discreditable conduct to, with misuse of firearm, and has therefore been dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force’, the command public relations officer said.

Penpushing also reports that she added that all persons concerned in the case, including family of the deceased, were carried along in the course of the investigations, stressing that the command remains steadfast in upholding professionalism and the rule of law in Nigeria.

The Abia State Police Command Public Relations Officer in the statement emphasized that the command has zero tolerance for any act of misconduct, unprofessionalism, and indiscipline among its operatives.

‘Investigation into the criminal aspects of his conduct has also been concluded and the matter has therefore been handed over to the office of the attorney general and commissioner for justice in Abia State on 24/05/2024 for prosecution in court,” she stated.

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