How my policeman friend led team that killed my son – Father

–  Father of a deceased says son was killed in a gun battle

– victim’s father, claims that his son was  killed by his policeman friend

– Daniel said that his son was shot dead by the team of police led by his friend

Daniel Kokorifa, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) Rivers state sector command, said his son identified as  Innocent Kokorifa, was allegedly killed by a police team in the state. It was said the father has demanded justice for the death of his son.

Kokorifa  spoke about the death of his son on Monday, August 29, when some human rights activists, led by a former secretary, civil liberties organisation, Alagoa Morris, paid a condolence visit to his home in Okaka area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.

Innocent, who was first of five children, was allegedly shot dead by the police anti-kidnapping team on Air Force Road in Yenagoa on August 18. The victim was said to be running an errand for his mother, Pere, when he was killed.

READ ALSO: Rivers police kills 6 armed robbers

He explained his son died on the day his West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results were released wherein he made all his papers. He said: “On August 18, 2016, my wife called me that our son was shot dead by the police. We went to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, but they denied knowledge of the incident.

“We went to the anti-vice unit and they also denied. When we went to the scene of the incident, we discovered that it was the anti-vice team that came for the operation.

“The following morning, I went to the anti-vice team again, but they denied knowledge of it. I saw a friend, who worked there. When I asked him, he also denied any knowledge of it. But I later discovered that it was my friend, who led the team, that killed my son.

“From there, I went to the Emergency Ward at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, in search of my son. There, I was told that the police brought the boy in the night around 11pm, the doctors said the boy was brought dead.

“That was how I knew my son was dead. I went inside the mortuary with my son’s picture and my ID card before they allowed me in. I saw his lifeless body in the morgue.”

Daniel, while thanking various rights groups that had been standing by the family, said his son’s dream of studying law at the university had been cut short.“From birth, he never had any criminal record. The day he died was the day his principal called me that he made all his papers. Now, he is dead. All I demand is justice,” he added.

The victim’s mother, Pere, said she asked him to give N2,000 to her elder sister’s daughter around 10pm on the day of the incident.

READ ALSO: Two suspects shot dead while robbing residents in Lagos

Pere said: “We started searching for him when he didn’t return on time. We went to hospitals and police stations, but they all denied knowing the whereabouts of my son. The following day, when my husband returned from Port Harcourt where he works, we went to the SCIID and they asked me to write a statement that it was bad boys that killed my son, so that they could investigate the matter, but I refused.”

Human rights activist, Morris, said: “Even a criminal is innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. And until a judge pronounces the death penalty, no one has the right to take a life.”

Another activist, Ebiserikumo Gbassa, who described the development as an extra-judicial killing, said the police had ended the life of a promising youth. “I am appealing to all relevant authorities to ensure that the killers of the innocent boy are brought to book,” he added.

When contacted, the police command spokesperson in the state, Asinim Butswat, said the police was investigating the matter. However, the deputy commissioner for police in charge of operations, Amiengheme Andy, on Friday, August 25 sympathised with the family of the deceased.

Andy said: “We do not encourage such things. We all have children and nobody will send anyone out to shoot anybody and anyone who does that will pay dearly for it.”We want to assure the family that nobody will cover up the matter.“At the end of the day, justice must be done. The commissioner wants to see the father of the boy because it is very painful.”             

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