Sunday Mgba
The
family of a 40-year-old police constable, Sunday Mgba, who died under
controversial circumstances, has urged the Inspector General of Police
to investigate the cause of his death.
The Cross River born constable, who
joined the Nigeria Police Force in 2009, was an orderly of a former
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tony Edokpolo.
Mgba reportedly went missing on December 4, 2013, while on a journey with Edokpolo to Benin.
His rotten corpse was said to have been
found some days later by the side of the road, with his body riddled
with bullets, which severed one of his legs.
Edokpolo, who survived the attack, was
said to have informed the family of the deceased that he and Mgba were
attacked by armed robbers at Okada, Benin-Ore Expressway, en route
Lagos.
A petition, dated December 10, 2013,
written to the IG, however, dismissed the claim, alleging that the
former police boss knew more than he was saying about the death.
In a 15-point poser, lawyers
representing the Mgba family, Bukie Obi and Associates, said the
deceased couldn’t have died from armed robbery attack as claimed by
Edokpolo because there was no such case reported at any police station
in Edo State.
The petition reads in part, “The widow
of the late police constable, Sunday Mgba, has instructed us to petition
you over the murder of her husband along the Okada area of the
Benin-Ore Expressway, on or about December, 4, 2013.
“Mrs. Victoria Mgba informed us that her
late husband was deployed to the Police Air Wing Command, Ikeja, Lagos
State and detailed as orderly to Edokpolo, then Commissioner of Police.
“Victoria told us further that on
November, 29, 2013, her husband left home on his motorcycle (which is
still at Mr. Tony Edokpolo’s house on Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja,
Lagos) in mufti, taking with him his police uniform, to accompany
Edokpolo to Benin; assuring her that he would be back to Lagos on
November 30, 2013.
“The widow said when as of December 7,
2013 she had not seen Mgba she became frantic and went to her late
husband’s office at the Air Wing Command, Ikeja to enquire about him.
“She said she discovered that Edokpolo
returned to Lagos on December 4, 2013 and was at his Ikeja GRA home, but
that her late husband had not resumed at his office. She said she went
to the CP’s house and was told by Edokpolo that he and the late
policeman were attacked by armed robbers at the Okada area of the
Benin-Ore Expressway and that while he was ordered to lie face down on
the ground, Constable Sunday Mgba, who was in police uniform, was
ordered into the bush, which was followed by gun fire.”
Edokpolo was said to have denied knowing the whereabouts of his orderly since the incident.
The petition stated that the wife and
family members of the deceased thronged the retired commissioner’s
house, forcing him to lead them to the purported place of the incident.
His corpse was said to have been found by the side of the road, rotten and mutilated.
His remains were reportedly deposited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
The petition added, “Edokpolo did not
report the purported robbery at the end of which his orderly was
“missing” to the Air Wing Command, Ikeja, Lagos, where Constable Sunday
Mgba served upon arrival in Lagos on December 4, 2013 or up to December
7, 2013 when the throng practically dragged him to the Air Wing Command,
from the comfort of his house to explain the whereabouts of his
orderly.
“Also, that Edokpolo did not show signs
of physical injuries and drove to Lagos in selfsame four-wheel utility
vehicle allegedly driven on the day – and which was supposedly the
attraction for the purported armed robbery.”
The wife of the deceased, Victoria, told
our correspondent at their residence in Ayobo, Lagos State, that she
was communicating with her husband while he was with Edokpolo until he
suddenly stopped picking his calls.
While fighting back tears, the
28-year-old widow, said since the death of her husband, nobody from the
police had condoled with her.
The petition to the IG against Edokpolo implored the police authorities to ensure justice is done.
Subsequent upon the petition, PUNCH Metro learnt that Victoria and a brother of the deceased, Michael Otu, were invited to the Police Force headquarters, Abuja.
Otu said the meeting at the Force
Criminal Investigation Department, was a disappointment as the
deceased’s family was given impossible conditions, before they could
get justice.
Otu said, “Policemen there said we
should provide a Sienna bus, prepare for their accommodation in a hotel,
prepare for transport to take them from Benin to Lagos, Lagos to Abuja
two times, and prepare money for the autopsy. The total is about
N300,000. If we have this money, we would have given it to Soni (Sunday)
to start business instead of joining the police to die in the bush and
rot like an animal, leaving two kids and a young wife.”
Our correspondent called one of the investigating police officers in charge of the case in Abuja.
The police officer expressed helplessness over the matter.
He said, “We cannot do anything if the
complainant does not pay money. We need to be transported to Lagos to
interrogate the principal suspect who is a retired CP. We will also need
to visit the scene of the crime. We are not being funded by the Federal
Government to perform such duties. If you report a case and you want
justice, then you must pay for the process.”
The Police Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, told our correspondent that he had yet to be briefed on the issue.
He said, “In the police, we don’t take
issues that touch on the lives of our personnel lightly. I don’t have
any information on this matter. If the family of the deceased can reach
out to me, it will be easy for me to confirm where the case is being
handled and the progress being made.”
Edokpolo, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, denied the allegations.
He said, “It is a robbery incident. The
Commissioner of Police, Edo State, is aware. They (Mgba family) only
cooked up the allegation.
“The robbery happened at Benin-Ore Expressway. You can also find out from the police authorities.
On the issue of not visiting the
victim’s family, he said, “My brother, put yourself in my shoes. Would
you have done that when the matter is under investigation? The police
are still investigating the matter and you want me to go and visit them?
That is not done. You let the police finish their job first.”
PUNCH
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