Police Allegedly Buries UNIBEN Student Without Family’s Knowledge After Shooting Him

Protest by students of the University of Benin over alleged shooting to death of late Momodu Ibrahim, a 22-year-old 500 level student of the Faculty of Laboratory Science yesterday disrupted vehicular movement in Benin city yesterday, as the students dressed in black attire marched through some major streets, calling for the arrest and prosecution of the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ogida Police Station, Mrs. Carol Afegbai, over her alleged complicity in the murder of Momodu.

Late Momodu, said to be the only male child of his parents was allegedly shot close to his family house at 1, Igbobaewaye Street, off Siluko road by Textile Mill junction.

An elder sister of the deceased, Ebohon Rebecca Egbe, who spoke to newsmen gave an account of how the life of his brother was cut short by the bullet allegedly fired by the DPO, while she called for justice to be done in the case.

“I was in my office in Port Harcourt when I received a call from a cousin of mine in Benin who is a policeman, saying that he wants to tell me that we lost Ibrahim my younger brother.

“I called my mother and she said they had been looking for him in for two days. Normally it is after 48 hours that you report such thing to the Police.”

According to her, she later went to the Police only to be told that he was allegedly killed by Carol Afegbua, the DPO of Ogida Police Station and was buried the next day without the knowledge of the family.

According to her, his brother’s cell-phone which was with the Police rang all through as “we were trying to locate his whereabouts until the Police finally picked the call and asked my mother to come to the police station.

“When the DPO was confronted over why her men shot my brother, she explained that they did not know his identity because her men asked him to stop and he refused. The DPO alleged that he was carrying a gun and wanted to shoot her men on patrol before they shot at him in self defence.”

The family, according to the sister of the slain student, was informed that the body of late Momodu had been buried at a public cemetery in Egor Local Government Area of the state.