Policemen watched my husband’s colleagues kill him – Wife

                                 
The wife of a vigilante has accused policemen attached to the Sapele Police Division, Delta State, of aiding the thugs who killed her 36-year-old husband.

The widow, Mrs. Esther Ifi, said the six-man gang had tortured her late husband, Mr. Jimoh Ifi, to a coma in the presence of the policemen around 8pm on July 16, 2014.

It was learnt that the gang had attacked the deceased for failing to remit a sum of N500 to the head of the vigilante group, Mr. Felix Ipemu. The sum, it was learnt, was given to the victim by a man who visited their joint in the Igbeku Community when the chairman was not around.

Reporters gathered that the leader of the group, who also doubled as the youth leader in the community, reportedly ordered his boys to unleash terror on Jimoh for being disloyal to the group.

Esther told reporters that after falling into a coma, her husband was taken to the police station by the policemen.

The father of four was said to have died in police custody the following night.

Esther said the suspected assailants were being sponsored by a politician in the state. It was also alleged that the alleged sponsor had made entreaties to the deceased’s family to ‘settle’ the matter.

Narrating her ordeal, the widow said life had been difficult for the family since her husband was murdered.

She said, “It has been difficult for me to fend for the children since the gang killed my husband. They attacked him three times that very day. He was relaxing at home around 8pm when they attacked him again. Even though the police saw the gang beating him, they did not do anything.

“Instead, they bundled him inside their van and took him to the station. His brother and I begged them to release him, but they refused. It was the following day that we learnt he was dead. Just because of N500, they snatched my joy from me.”

It was further gathered that a separate team of policemen eventually swooped on the suspected assailants, leading to the arrests of the ringleader and one of his boys identified as Lugard Tebu.

It was learnt that four suspects were still at large.

In a petition filed to the Inspector General of Police, the Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, and the state’s commissioner of police, the solicitor for the family, Mr. Omajali Emmanuel, demanded the arrest of the fleeing suspects, adding that the policemen that arrested the deceased were also culpable.

The petition read in part, “We are representatives of Mr. Jimoh Ifi, Mrs. Esther Ifi, Miss Juliet Ifi, Miss Knowledge Ifi, Miss Praise Ifi and Miss Prayer Ifi and other members of the family.

“It is on their behalf and instructions we forward this petition. While appealing to you to assist us in arresting the other suspects, we are also of the view that the team that handled the matter contributed to the death of the deceased. They must be brought to book in the interest of justice and fair play.’

The spokesperson for the Delta State Police command, DSP Celestina Kalu, confirmed Jimoh’s murder. She, however, debunked the widow’s claim that policemen watched the thugs kill her late husband.

“Two of the suspects who murdered him have been arrested and charged to court. It is a complete lie that the police conspired with the gang to kill the victim,” she said.