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.
PUNCH Metro 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.
Our correspondent 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 PUNCH Metro 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.”
Source: punch.ng
Welcome to Kingsley Amaefule's Blog 