- According to Police Public Relations Officer Grace Iringe-Koko, Abraham was implicated in a kidnapping, armed robbery, and cultism case
The family of Chukwudi Abraham, a motor mechanic from Ikoku, Port Harcourt, has accused the Rivers State Police Command of causing his death through torture while he was detained at the Octopus Strike Force Unit.
The police, however, refuted the torture claims, stating that Abraham was a kidnapper and cultist. According to Police Public Relations Officer Grace Iringe-Koko, Abraham was implicated in a kidnapping, armed robbery, and cultism case, specifically the abduction of a businesswoman on September 7, 2023, who was released after a ransom of N3.5 million was paid.
Iringe-Koko added that the police met with Abraham’s family and their legal representatives, agreeing that the family would participate in the autopsy to determine the cause of his death.
Meanwhile, the father of the deceased, Okereke Abraham, at a joint press briefing with the Rivers State Civil Society Organisation said his son was not a criminal, saying months after his arrest the police denied keeping him in their custody, but that his remains were found at the University of Port Harcourt.
While fighting back tears, he appealed to the Rivers State Government to come to his aid.
The distraught man stated, “On January 11, I was at Choba and was called that my son was arrested. I thought it was a normal arrest not knowing there was something behind (it). My son is a mechanic.
“His younger brother said I should not worry that he would come back. Two days after when I went to the Octopus Unit, they chased me (away). I started going from one police station to another, with my son’s wife and his younger brother.
“I contacted human rights to inform them. So after three days, the police brought my son to his shop and searched everywhere but they didn’t see anything. They took him back. When I went back to the Octopus, they didn’t even allow me to enter the place again. So I went back to human rights who promised to follow it before I heard that they had killed my son.”
The Chairman of the State Civil Society Organisation, Enefaa Georgewill, faulted the police over their handling of the case.
Georgewill expressed sadness that even after the mechanic’s arrest, the police didn’t make any effort to contact his wife or any family member.
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