Why did Oga kill dis innocent man? De man go beg am and he kill am. If na we now, dem go carry us go put for cell.
The above statement as contained in a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 9, Umuahia, is
said to have been the spontaneous reaction of a junior police officer who witnessed the alleged murder of one Sylvester
Egbusunwa Mbachu by the police area commander for Orlu, Imo State, Mr. J. Okoroafor.
According to the petition captioned: Senseless Murder of Sylvester Egbasunwa Mbachu in Cold Blood by Mr. Okoroafor,
The Orlu Police Area Commander, anchored by Eze Okosisi Ezeanyika, the lawyer to the family, the area commander
was said to have personally shot to death, Mr. Sylvester Mbachu on June 4, 2004 in front of his (Area Commander
s) official residence at Nkwo Ito Junction, Orlu.
How It All Happened
Giving a chronology of the tragic incident, the petition which has been copied to Imo State governor, Chief Achike
Udenwa and the Imo State Commissioner of Police, among other personalities, explained that on the fateful day,
Mr. Sylvester Mbachu was leading a convoy of mourners and the corpse of his brother, one Donatus Mbachu, a former
driver who was earlier killed in a motor accident, for burial in their community, Ogeberuru.
When the first batch of mourners arrived at Nwko Ito Junction, Amafaike with the ambulance carrying the body of
the deceased, they made a brief stop on Amaifeke-Ogberuru-Ihite-Owerri Road to wait for the rest of the funeral
train who were still trailing behind. The wife and son of Donatus were sitting in the waiting ambulance with Sylvester.
The petition said when the policemen manning the Area Commander
s residence saw the crowd, they asked them to move clear of the gate; an order which the crowd obeyed; but that
the Area Commander rushed out and reprimanded the guards for not arresting those rowdy men.
At this juncture, his men grabbed three of the mourners by their trousers belts and dragged them toward the gate
to the enraged Area Commander.
On noticing the fate that had befallen his fellow mourners, Sylvester disembarked from his seat in front of the
ambulance and with his hands raised up in supplication, moved towards the Area Commander and begged that he should
please release the men who were in his company.
The Area Commander who was then speaking with someone on his handset, did not listen to the man
s prayer, he just barked out
I say don
t near me
and drew his service pistol and shot Sylvester in the mouth shattering his brains. The incident took place in
the full gaze of witnesses who later narrated the story to our clients.
It did not stop there as the mourners and other members of the public on seeing the cold blooded murder of Sylvester,
protested and demonstrated against the incident but one of the Area Commander
s men reportedly shot and injured one of them in the leg.
Cover-up Attempts
Apart from the petition to the AIG which hinted that when Sylvester slumped and died, the police took his corpse,
deposited it in the General Hospital mortuary, Umuana, Orlu, and went to Imo State radio service to announce that
the policemen from Orlu police command had gallantly killed one of the hired mourners who were exchanging fire
with them, the Ogberuru Patriotic Union are also alleging cover-up attempts by the police.
According to their letter captioned: Attempt to cover up murder of an Ochasi son by the power-drunk police officer.
A call for action, sent to all leaders of thought of the community home and abroad as made available to Daily Sun
by one of the signatories, Chief Thaddeus Mbonu, the people said so far no positive response has been received
from the Imo State police command. Rather there are indications that Mr. Okoroafor and his cohorts are making
some relentless efforts to cover up the crime.
Now convinced that the Imo State police command is scheming a cover-up, we have quickly turned to the office of
AIG of Police, Zone 9, Umuahia who has gratefully opened up investigations in the matter. We are, however, prepared
to move even further up to Abuja if there are signs that Umuahia could falter.
We are determined to assist them in any way possible to ensure that they reach and protect all independent witnesses,
so that Mr. Okoroafor does not get away with his misdeed.
All hands must be on deck in the effort to see that justice is done in this matter. We therefore request that
you throw in your full weight with us. We need the support, moral and material, of our Ochasi kith at home and
in diaspora so that we do not get a raw deal in the matter .
The letter urged all the sons and daughters of community never to see the incident in the narrow perspective of
an Ogberuru affair since the outcome would be far-reaching and a determinant of future relationship of people in
the area with the police. Today it is Sylvester Mbachu; tomorrow it could be anybody else , the letter warned.
Mother joins the sons in death
While all eyes are now on the AIG Zone 9 whether his investigation would indict or exonerate the Orlu Area Commander,
Chief Thadeleas Mbonu, one of the authors of the wake-up call for action to Ochasi sons, told Daily Sun that another
tragedy has befallen the Mbachu family.
After losing Donatus to motor accident and Sylvester to the alleged Area Commander
s bullet, their mother could not stand the grief. She has also died , Mbonu said.
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