Posted by Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja on
The Federal Government's Commission of Inquiry investigating the extra-judicial murder of six civilians in Abuja last month was on Friday told that the refusal of the only female victim, Augustina Arebun, to accede to the love advances of Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim was the reason why the five male traders and their female companion were shot.
The Federal Government's Commission of Inquiry investigating the extra-judicial murder of six civilians in Abuja last month was on Friday told that the refusal of the only female victim, Augustina Arebun, to accede to the love advances of Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim was the reason why the five male traders and their female companion were shot.
Testifying before the commission, the Deputy Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Federal Capital Territory Chapter, Mr. Austin Ifedinaze, said that Danjuma had made passes at Augustina at Grand Mirage Hotel, Area Eleven, Abuja where they met shortly before the incident at Gimbya Street.
Ifedinaze said that Ifeanyi Ozor, who was the late Augustina's boyfriend, resisted Danjuma's move and told his lady friend not to accede to the DCP's advances.
The Ohanaeze leader said that before the DCP and fugitive former DPO of Garki Police Station, Othman Abdulsalam, gave the order for Ozor to be shot, Augustina's boyfriend was overheard by a police corporal, Anthony Idah, asking his captors whether it was right to label them armed robbers because his girlfriend refused Danjuma's love advances.
Idah was a member of the patrol team that later allegedly went to eliminate the remaining four traders.
Idah reportedly died in mysterious circumstances a day before he was expected to appear before the disbanded Board of Inquiry headed by DIG Mike Okiro to explain the circumstances surrounding the death of the six persons.
Ifedinaze told the commission that Othman visited Idah's home, a night before the latter died, and the pair went out to drink beer.
Curiously, he went on, the corporal later died after complaining of severe stomach pains.
The witness said that before his death, Idah had approached him, asking for forgiveness from Ohanaeze and all Nigerians over the tragic incident.
'He said he was going to tell the truth at the Mike Okiro panel, only for us to hear that he died a day before he was due to appear," Ifedinaze said, with a mournful look.
The witness also recalled that before he died, the late Idah had also told him how he overheard DCP Danjuma telling the former FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, that they had a bad case at hand.
The late corporal, he added, said that Adebayo then asked Danjuma to go and handle it with maturity.
Earlier, Chairman of the commission, Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, had ruled that Osita Obi, who sustained gunshot wounds during the riots that followed the death of the six people be allowed to receive treatment at a government hospital.
She also ordered that a policeman should accompany Obi to the hospital so that he would be attended to, adding that the x-ray and receipts obtained from the facility must be presented to the tribunal for necessary action.
Saturday Punch, July 16, 2005