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Tears flowed profusely yesterday afternoon at the Karu Police Station when the younger sister and cousin of Ugochukwu Nwaokporo met him to confirm if he was indeed alive.
Ugochukwu has been in police detention for the past eight years without trial. His younger sister, Mary Nwaokporo on sighting him limping and in pains , wept loudly and kept saying ‘what have the police done to my brother.’ The detainee who was not expecting to see his sister and cousin shouted ‘Jesus’ thrice and bent his head down in order to control his emotions. His sister then moved close to him and he placed his hand around her shoulder to comfort her. Mary told her brother to forgive the family as they were misled into believing that he had died. "When we came in 2002, a policeman at Life Camp Police Station told us that you were dead and buried," she said. She said their ailing father asked Emmanuel (the cousin) and she to come to Abuja from Ebonyi State to confirm if it was true that he is alive. Ugochukwu asked about his mother and also sought to know how other relatives were faring in his village. The detainee also complained to his lawyer that his belongings were still at Life Camp Police Station and he needed them to be transferred to Karu where he is presently being detained. Our reporter learnt that before the family could see the detainee, the lawyer had to take them to the officer- in- charge of the anti robbery squad, who in turn directed them to the deputy commissioner of police, FCT CID. The deputy commissioner of police was not in Abuja and he directed the officer in charge of the anti-robbery squad by phone to allow the relations see the detainee. A detective was assigned to follow the relatives and their lawyer to Karu Police Station to see Ugochukwu. After 15 minutes of meeting with his relatives, Ugochukwu was taking back to his cell and his sister kept weeping and singing Christian songs. Meanwhile, our reporter learnt from police sources that the investigating police officer in Ugochukwu’s case is still unknown. "The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) should send a trusted officer among his aides to High Court 7 of FCT and get the court’s proceeding in respect of Ugochukwu Nwaokporo’s case," the police source said. He said from the court proceedings, the IGP would get an instant answer to whether Ugochukwu was ever presented in court to take a plea or even granted bail. "This boy has really suffered and I remember once when he was brought before former FCT police commissioner Lawrence Alobi and he tried to find the investigating police officer but could not," the officer said. Our reporter learnt from the FCT police command that Ugochukwu would no longer be taken to Ebonyi State; rather, he would be taken to court for proper detention in prison. "We have traced his case file and learnt that it was the court that remanded him in police cell," said Mr Simeon Midendi, deputy commissioner of police in charge of SCID. He said Ugochuckwu’s case will come up next week at the High Court and the police intend to ask the court to transfer his remand from the police cell to prison. In another development, the IGP has set up a special monitoring committee to look into abandoned case files in all the police stations in the country, with the aim of decongesting police cells. Our reporter learnt that the IGP’s action is meant to restore public confidence in the police force.
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