The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed four of its officers accused of murdering a mechanic in Rivers state, Chima Ikwunado.
Chima and four other auto mechanics were arrested for contravening traffic rules by the accused policemen.
They were later accused of stealing the car they were test driving by the policemen, who took them to their station located at the Ikokwu area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The incidents which emerged in December 2019, hsparked outrage on social media, which, after it was believed that Chima died in the habd of policemen while being tortured.
The were tortured for three weeks and labelled cultists and armed robbers by the police.
The late Chima later died on December 29, 2019.
Meanwhile all efforts made by the owner of the vehicle they were test driving to get them out of detention roved abortive.
Chima’s colleagues were subsequently charged to court and remanded in custody in January 2020 but were released days later following the directive of the state’s Department of Public Prosecutions.
However, their dismissal was confirmed in a statement by the spokesperson for the state’s police command, Nnamdi Omoni.
Omoni said the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, had ordered the dismissal of the erring officers from the Force.
He said, “The officers from the Eagle Crack Squad who allegedly tortured late Chima Ikwunador to death in December 2019 and unlawfully inflicted various degrees of injuries on Ifeanyi Onyekwere, Ogbonna Victor, Ifeanyi Osuji and Osaze Friday have been dismissed by the Rivers State Police Command and will be charged to court tomorrow for conspiracy and murder, among other charges.
“The officers who had gone through the processes of orderly room trial were today de-kitted and dismissed from the Force, hence their arraignment.
“Recall that the Commissioner of Police, Joseph G. Mukan, in his maiden press briefing on assumption of duty in the state promised to address all cases of infractions and unprofessional conduct of the officers and men of the command and to offer quality policing services to the state.”
