Policemen implicated in varsity student’s killing arrested

The policemen accused of collaborating with hoodlums to kill two youths in Badagry, Lagos State, have been arrested. They were arrested on Friday, according to the police authorities.

However, a new video made available to our correspondent identified two of the policemen as Inspector Adefemi Ashogbon, who is the station officer of the Badagry Police Division, and one Sergeant John Sonayon.

The two policemen and four other yet-to-be-identified policemen could be seen at the scene watching hoodlums beat the victims to death. While Ashogbon and Sonayon were in the midst of the crowd, the four yet-to-be-identified policemen could be seen standing beside a white police patrol vehicle.

Ashogbon, who wore a green pullover and holding an AK47 rifle in the video, was the policeman that interviewed the victims during their torture. It was learnt that the two policemen and some of the hoodlums had been arrested. 

PUNCH Metro had reported that two youths, Ifechukwude Nwaikpor, and one Kazeem, were lynched in Ajara, Badagry, on July 21, 2013. Nwaikpor, a final year student of Geology and Mining, and Kazeem were beaten to death after a misunderstanding with residents of the area. PUNCH Metro learnt that at least eight people had been arrested over the incident. The state Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, had set up a special team of policemen to handle the matter. Manko exonerated the victims of robbery last Thursday and berated the Divisional Police Officer, Badagry Division, CSP Mohammed Dankoli, for unprofessional conduct. 

He had said, “The Divisional Police Officer did not present the matter to us the way it happened.  When we started asking questions, we discovered that the two people, who were killed, were not armed robbers contrary to what the DPO told us. When we saw the video clips and watched the way those boys were killed, we told ourselves that we would be failing in our duties if we fail to bring everyone involved to justice.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said all the policemen in the video had been arrested.“Investigations are ongoing. The outcome of the investigations will be made public in due course,” she added.