• CP orders vigilante’s arrest for killing trader
The police in Rivers State said they have arrested an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, who allegedly killed a bus driver along the NTA Road, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.
The state Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday, disclosed this during a meeting with youth leaders from the 23 local government areas of the state in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Friday also ordered the immediate arrest of a member of a local vigilante group, known as OSPAC, who allegedly shot dead a trader at the GSM Village in the Garrison area of Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
The CP said the NSCDC officer was identified and was being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, adding that his weapon had been retrieved.
“When the incident happened, our men moved in, identified the NSCDC officer and he was taken to the SCID for further investigation,” he stated.
He added that the command was in talks with the family of the deceased bus driver, known as Christian or Biggie, and said now that courts had reopened, the suspect would be charged.
On the latest incident at Garrison, an eyewitness said trouble started when the vigilantes accosted the man, who was about entering his shop, on Wednesday.
He said the vigilantes asked him to identify himself and prevented the man from entering the market, leading to a heated argument and one of them brought out a gun and shot the trader.
The eyewitness said, “We were here in Garrison doing our business. The OSPAC people came and held a shop owner hostage inside the market around 7pm.
“One of the vigilantes asked the man to identify himself and where he was going to. He told them that he was a trader and wanted to pick something from his shop.
“The OSPAC said the man didn’t have any reason to enter the market by that time. An altercation ensued.
“They man was asking them to allow him in so that he could open his shop and pick the item he came for, but the OSPAC men refused.
“Before we knew it, one of the OSPAC men shot the trader.”
He explained that the incident led to the disruption of business activities in the area as traders were forced to close shop.
He further said the situation infuriated traders and residents of the community, who staged a protest, while the OSPAC team members took to their heels to avoid a mob attack.
Confirming the incident in a short message to newsmen on Thursday, the CP said, “On the Ogbunabali case, the Divisional Police Officer has been directed to ensure that the OSPAC official and all those who hired him are arrested forthwith.”
