Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chinwike Asadu
The
Enugu State Police Command on Tuesday said it had raided criminals’
hideouts and made random arrests in its investigations of the murder of
Kwara State police commissioner, Mr. Chinweike Asadu, last Saturday.
The Enugu State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Tonye Ebitibituwa, who announced the arrests declined giving
the number and identity of those arrested. The PUNCH however
learnt from residents of Nike in the Enugu metropolis, where the late
police boss was gunned down, that over 500 youths of the area had been
picked.
A resident of the area, who refused
to give his name for fear of police harassment, said, “All the youths
in this area have been arrested and detained in many police stations in
the state. Over 500 persons have been arrested in this area.”
When asked to give his name, the source
said, “Ah, I can’t tell you my name. Even if you know my name don’t
publish it because I don’t want police trouble.”
Other residents who also pleaded anonymity corroborated the account of their neighbour.
The development coincided with a
resolution by the House of Representatives condemning the killing of
Asadu and asking President Goodluck Jonathan to “redouble his efforts as
the Chief Security Officer of this nation to ensure that all his
security chiefs are on top of their schedules.”
Ebitibituwa said the police would not relent in their efforts until Asadu’s killers werenabbed.
Ebitibituwa spoke while briefing
journalists in Enugu on the efforts being made by the police and other
security agencies to track down Asadu’s killers.
He said, “I want to formally inform
members of the press on the death of my colleague, classmate and good
friend who was on transit to Port Harcourt.
“He met his untimely death very close to
his house; we have been battling to make sure that we bring to book
those involved in this dastardly act.
“This is a case that all of us did not
expect when it happened. The suddenness of this case has given us cause
to re-strategise and see that crime of such nature does not occur again.
“We have made arrests and we are still
investigating. We will not reveal the identity of the persons we have
arrested; we will also not reveal the number.”
The police commissioner added, “As I
said earlier, we are still interrogating them. They were random arrests
in criminal hideouts. Through the process of this investigation we can
get a clue from them and we would take it up from there.”
He also stated that it was too early to make conclusions on the reasons behind the killing.
“I told you that we are still
investigating this case, it will be too early to term it robbery,
assassination or kidnap,” he noted.
In a related development, the CP also
confirmed that a policeman, Corporal Amos Marcus, was killed along
Rangers Avenue in Enugu by gunmen last week Monday.
The PUNCH learnt that the late Marcus was an orderly attached to a personality whose identity was being kept secret by the police.
However, the House resolution, which
followed a motion sponsored by a lawmaker from Kwara State, Mr. Zakari
Mohammed, asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar,
to ensure that the suspects were apprehended.
The motion tagged, “Need to unravel high
profile killings in Nigeria,” noted that since the killing of the late
Dele Giwa in 1986 to date, many high profile killings in the country had
remained unresolved.
“These range from Hajiya Saadatu Rimi in
2006, Olufunsho Anthony Williams in Lagos, Marshall Harry in 2003 to
the late Chief Bola Ige in 2001, among others”, the motion observed.
The House called on the IGP to “ensure
that the killing of the CP does not go the way of the previous
unresolved murders and assassinations.”
As part of measures to contain criminal
elements, the House also resolved that the “installation of CCTV cameras
be encouraged in all state capitals and all public places” in the
country.
The House complained of deteriorating
security situation across the nation and urged security agencies to
redouble their crime fighting efforts.
PUNCH
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