Samuel Ojana, the police corporal that shot and
killed a driver in Onitsha on Thursday, has been dismissed from service
and charged to court for murder.
The police said in Onitsha on Friday that Ojana was
dismissed after an orderly room trial for the alleged killing of Mr.
Edwin Eze, a bus driver.
The dismissed policeman, who has two wives (one of
them pregnant), was, however, described as a quiet and peaceful person
by his neighbours.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhtari
Ibrahim, and other senior officers of the command relocated to Onitsha
on Friday to calm the tense situation that arose after Thursday’s
incident.
Ojana, who is from Agila in Benue State and attached
to the Police Mobile Force 52, Onitsha, was arraigned before an Onitsha
Chief Magistrate’s Court presided over by Mrs. Ngozi Okoye amid tight
security on the orders of the CP.
Okoye remanded the accused in prison custody after
adjourning the matter to enable the Director of Public Prosecutions to
issue an advice on the matter because the magistrate’s court lacks the
jurisdiction to try a murder case.
The CP said the dismissal and arraignment of Ojana
were done to enthrone discipline in the force and to send a message to
the public that the law must be respected irrespective of who is
concerned.
He said, “The suspect, as you can see, has been
dismissed after the orderly room trial and you saw him in the court
today. That is to tell you that the police is committed to the rule of
law and will not in any way shield anybody who has gone contrary to the
law, which we swore to protect.
“It was unfortunate the incident happened, but
remember, it was not deliberate, it could happen to anybody but still
the police had to dismiss the suspect after finding him culpable of the
offence and charge him to court; this is the level of our commitment in
making sure that the law takes its full course.”
He debunked the rumour making the rounds that the
suspect was an Hausa man, saying, “The suspect is not an Hausa man, it
is the wrong and bad approach to the matter. He is not a Muslim as you
have heard the name, Samuel, then the issue is that a policeman is a
policeman no matter where he comes from.”
He called on the residents of Onitsha to go about
their normal activities, promising that the police would give them
adequate protection and also appealed to the rampaging drivers to be
calm.
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