On Saturday evening, unknown gunmen clad in police uniforms shot and killed Chukwuka Monye at Rumuokoro Junction in Rivers State’s Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The deceased, a volunteer traffic warden, was said to be controlling traffic in Rumuokoro, a suburb of Rivers state, Port Harcourt, at the time of the occurrence at around 6 p.m.
He was said to be helping in clearing the gridlock caused by a downpour when one of the gunmen in police uniform inside a vehicle fired at him.
According to a source who did not want his name printed for security reasons, the deceased had a disagreement with some security employees but could not identify the individuals.
“What I heard was that Chukwuka was arguing with some security people, but I don’t know if they are policemen or not.
“He is a very quiet person and very intelligent. He is a First Class graduate, 43 years old now. It is very unfortunate what happened to him,” he stated.
It was learnt that the corpse was later retrieved from the scene by policemen and deposited at a morgue in Port Harcourt.
Speaking to our correspondent about the incident on the telephone, the deceased’s father, John Monye, a retired warrant officer said he was at home when someone used his late son’s telephone number to call him to inform him of the development.
He called for a proper investigation to unravel those behind his son’s death.
He said, “I was in the house when somebody who said he is my son’s friend used his (Chukwuka) number to call me.
“That caller said Chukwuka’s corpse was lying on the ground, that they shot him.
“He said the police shot him, according to what they told him.”
Asked if his son was a cultist or had a problem with anyone, he said, “My son is a quiet boy. He doesn’t make trouble with anybody. Throughout his schooling days, he never had a problem with anybody.
“He is married with three children, a daughter and two sons. My son cannot die like that.
“I want the government to investigate this matter and find out what happened that led to him being shot.”
The spokesperson of the Rivers state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, when contacted, confirmed the incident, saying the act was perpetrated by gunmen in police uniform.
While noting that the investigation was ongoing, she said, “It happened around 6pm on April 1. The man was controlling traffic. I think he has issues with those people because they are not police officers, but gunmen wearing police uniforms were the ones that shot him.
“Immediately it happened, the Divisional Police Officer swung into action and his corpse was taken to a morgue.”
