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SUSPENDED Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in the FCT, Danjuma Ibrahim, yesterday denied shooting the six Apo victims.
ABUJA - SUSPENDED Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in the FCT, Danjuma Ibrahim, yesterday denied shooting the six Apo victims.
Ibrahim made the denial when he appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry sitting at the FCT Customary Court of Appeal Jabi, while led in evidence by his counsel, Mr John Odubela.
The witness refuted earlier evidences from other witnesses that he snatched an AK 47 rifle from one Insp. Suleiman Audu, and expended its 10 bullets on a Peugeot 406, being driven by the victims. He told the commission that on June 7, this year he was summoned to the presidential Villa as part of his duty supervising patrol teams in the FCT.
He said that on his way, he received another phone call from the Director General National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that armed robbers had raided his house.
According to him, he called on the Maitama Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to take control, adding that he however went to the scene of incident later.
Ibrahim said from the scene he gathered from two men that the hoodlums who had escaped, used an ash coloured Peugeot 406, with another red car.
He said he returned to Gimbiya street at about 1:30 a.m. and had noticed a red starlet car on the way with some people struggling with some other persons in a Peugeot 406.
He said two men left in the Peugeot 406 and he trailed but later lost them, and had to alert the police pin down team at Gimbiya street who later flagged the car to a stop when it came that way.
He said the car initially slowed down but accelerated adding that he used his car to block the Peugeot 406.
According to him, the 406 hit his car and in an effort to escape, reversed and hit a tree while he heard a gunshot while he was trying to come out of his car.
Ibrahim said he took cover and approached the car with his pistol and found that one among the six persons in the car was unconscious or presumably dead, while othershad injuries.
He said that all were taken to the Garki police station where he handed them over to the DPO, Abdulsalam Othman.
In a cross-examination, counsel to the deceased victims Amobi Nzelu and Mrs Mary Ogbegolu
In response to questions from counsel to the deceased, the witness said the manner the victims drove the 406 was suspicious and they could be regarded as armed robbers based on the previous background information.
He denied knowing the only female victim and having allegedly quarrelled with the victims before the incident and shooting an Okada rider during the fuel price labour strike in Abuja.
He also denied conspiring with DPO Othman to facilitate his escape adding that he was under tight security at force headquarters under Deputy Commissioner of police Amusa Bello.
The witness tendered through his counsel, his professional qualification documents which were admitted as exhibit to prove that he was a trained police officer.