Sophia Michaels
A police officer in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, shot and killed a 40-year-old man named Benalayefa Asiayei along Azikoro Road.
It was gathered that Asiayei was returning from work in his vehicle, a Toyota Sienna, around 8pm on Tuesday when he was shot by the policeman.
When contacted about the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Musa Mohammed, said the policeman responsible is attached to the state security outfit, Operation Doo Akpo.
The deceased, who was an electrician and hailed from the Bobougbene community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, was carrying a passenger in the front seat when the incident occurred.
An eyewitness said the Operation Doo Akpo patrol stopped him and demanded N200 as their usual collection package from motorists, which he said he did not have.
The eyewitness said Asiayei complained that he was carrying only one passenger when the policeman suddenly fired at him.
It was further gathered that it was at the scene of the shooting that the deceased’s in-law, simply identified as Zaiky, saw the car and corpse, raised the alarm and one of the policemen pointed at the officer who shot him.
The policeman allegedly escaped in the patrol van, but some eyewitnesses had already taken pictures of him.
The police took the corpse to Government House Hospital, Yenagoa and later to the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
Meanwhile, the family is seeking justice, urging Governor Douye Diri, the Inspector General of Police and the Ijaw Youth Council to take the necessary steps against police brutality in the state.
“We are calling on the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Douye Diri and the Inspector General of Police in a matter of urgency, to bring to book, the policeman who shot Bena to death, face the law, and also calling on Ijaw Youth Council IYC Worldwide to take necessary action against police brutality in Bayelsa State,” the family said.
