Imo gunmen shoot Abia police officer bound for Lagos, victim is missing
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The family of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Victor Uwadinachi, mourned his disappearance on his way to the police headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro understood that Uwadinachi, recently transferred to Abia State Police Command, boarded a bus from Umuahia to Lagos State during an official visit.
The policeman allegedly undertook the journey to obtain his document from the Lagos State Police Command with the aim of transferring him to Abia State.
Lawyer for Uwadinachi's family, Anozie Emelike, who spoke to our correspondent on Tuesday, said bus driver Christian Ekweme was transporting the policeman alongside others passengers in Lagos when they arrived at an illegal checkpoint around the Orsu /Route Nkwere Orlu.
He said the gunmen, after discovering that Uwadinachi was a policeman, allegedly shot him, adding that the gunmen ordered the driver to continue the journey, leaving Uwadinachi for dead.
The lawyer said: "On August 6, 2022, Uwadinachi was en route from Umuahia to Lagos on an official trip to the State Police Command to obtain his file and the transfer to Abia State Police Command. .
"Uwadinachi and other passengers were on a New Testament Motors bus driven by a driver who knew he was a policeman. When they arrived at Orsu/Nkwere Orlu Road, men at the security checkpoint discovered that Uwadinachi was a policeman.
"After finding him, they asked him to get out of the vehicle, searched him vigorously, saw his police ID and shot him in the leg and hands. They ordered the driver to drive away and left him in a pool of blood."
The lawyer said that when other passengers were contacted through their phone numbers obtained from the transport company's registry, they confirmed the attack.
However, he said the bus driver, Ekweme, never reported to the police or a security post on the highway despite Uwadinachi dropping out with the men armed.
In an effort to locate the policeman, the attorney said Uwadinachi's family members reported the matter to Imo State Police Command for investigation.
"As we speak, he (Ekweme) has not yet made himself available for investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Owerri," the attorney said.< /p>
One of the bus passengers, simply identified as Pastor Chimezie, confirmed the incident to our correspondent saying, "What you just said is true."
On how the gunmen identified the policeman, he said: "They asked us to show our ID. When he took his ID card out of his bag, they shouted, "So you're a policeman." Then they shot him."
Efforts to reach New Testament Motors were unsuccessful because the phone numbers listed on the company's passenger manifest were unreachable.
Contacted, Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said: "I am not aware of the matter. The command does not have such information."
Imo State Police Command Spokesman Micheal Abattam when contacted said: 'I am not aware and that means the command did not receive such a report."
Please share this story:
The family of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Victor Uwadinachi, mourned his disappearance on his way to the police headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro understood that Uwadinachi, recently transferred to Abia State Police Command, boarded a bus from Umuahia to Lagos State during an official visit.
The policeman allegedly undertook the journey to obtain his document from the Lagos State Police Command with the aim of transferring him to Abia State.
Lawyer for Uwadinachi's family, Anozie Emelike, who spoke to our correspondent on Tuesday, said bus driver Christian Ekweme was transporting the policeman alongside others passengers in Lagos when they arrived at an illegal checkpoint around the Orsu /Route Nkwere Orlu.
He said the gunmen, after discovering that Uwadinachi was a policeman, allegedly shot him, adding that the gunmen ordered the driver to continue the journey, leaving Uwadinachi for dead.
The lawyer said: "On August 6, 2022, Uwadinachi was en route from Umuahia to Lagos on an official trip to the State Police Command to obtain his file and the transfer to Abia State Police Command. .
"Uwadinachi and other passengers were on a New Testament Motors bus driven by a driver who knew he was a policeman. When they arrived at Orsu/Nkwere Orlu Road, men at the security checkpoint discovered that Uwadinachi was a policeman.
"After finding him, they asked him to get out of the vehicle, searched him vigorously, saw his police ID and shot him in the leg and hands. They ordered the driver to drive away and left him in a pool of blood."
The lawyer said that when other passengers were contacted through their phone numbers obtained from the transport company's registry, they confirmed the attack.
However, he said the bus driver, Ekweme, never reported to the police or a security post on the highway despite Uwadinachi dropping out with the men armed.
In an effort to locate the policeman, the attorney said Uwadinachi's family members reported the matter to Imo State Police Command for investigation.
"As we speak, he (Ekweme) has not yet made himself available for investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Owerri," the attorney said.< /p>
One of the bus passengers, simply identified as Pastor Chimezie, confirmed the incident to our correspondent saying, "What you just said is true."
On how the gunmen identified the policeman, he said: "They asked us to show our ID. When he took his ID card out of his bag, they shouted, "So you're a policeman." Then they shot him."
Efforts to reach New Testament Motors were unsuccessful because the phone numbers listed on the company's passenger manifest were unreachable.
Contacted, Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said: "I am not aware of the matter. The command does not have such information."
Imo State Police Command Spokesman Micheal Abattam when contacted said: 'I am not aware and that means the command did not receive such a report."
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