Mob attacks police station over involvement in robbery

Angry mob on Wednesday attacked the Obanliku Police Station in the Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State over an alleged involvement of some policemen in a robbery.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the angry youths burnt down motorcycles and vehicles that were parked in the station premises around 4am after a prominent son of the town was robbed and killed by the suspected police-robbers.

An eyewitness, Mr. Clement Ojong, who identified the dead victim simply as Sylvester, said the incident happened in the early hours of the day.

Ojong said, “We got the information around 4am that one of the sons of Obanliku, Sylvester, who was a businessman was robbed and shot dead by robbers in his house.

“We also learnt that Sylvester shot one of the robbers before he was killed and the police had deposited the two bodies at the morgue of Sankwala General Hospital. Some youths insisted on accompanying the policemen to the morgue to identify who the dead robber was.

“The dead robber was discovered to be a police officer serving here in Obanliku.

“The youths got angry and invaded the police station. The Divisional Police Officer and other policemen on duty ran away for fear of being lynched. The youths in their anger set fire on motorcycles and some vehicles that were parked in the station. They also burnt some documents that they seized from the station.

“The Area Command has waded into the matter now and calm has returned to the town. We are all working together to see how the issue can be amicably resolved.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey, confirmed the incident, adding that the matter was still being investigated.

Bassey said, “The case is under investigation. The investigation will reveal those who were involved in the incident.”

PUNCH