A 45-year-old police inspector, identified as Inspector Festus Onori, has been beaten to death by a group of motorcyclists popularly known as Okada riders during the weekend.
The cop was lynched to death in the presence of his wife and three children at the weekend.
Trouble started in Ogwashi-Uku community, Aniocha South local government area of Delta State where Onori was allegedly mobbed to death.
Narrating the unfortunate incident, an elder brother to the deceased, Austin Onori said that Inspector Onori was on his way to church with his wife and three children when a commercial motorcyclist said to be of Hausa/Fulani extraction hit his vehicle from behind in Okpanam.
He revealed that his brother drove a distance of about one electric pole after the minor accident to park properly and came down to ensure that the Okada man and his passenger were unhurt only for more than 20 men to pursue him with sticks and club prompting the deceased to run back into his car.
He said that “as he drove off fearing for his life,the Hausa Okada riders pursued him and as they continued to chase him, their numbers increased.
“When he got to marble hill (Okpanam) he diverted through that road to express thinking that his chasers would be discouraged and retreat.behold, they pursued him down to Ogwashi-Uku Community even facing Kwale when the fuel in his vehicle got exhausted on the Ogwashi Uku Community Kwale expressway.
“At that time, his pursuers numbered over 200. Then, they mobbed him to death in the presence of his wife and three children.
“They also destroyed his vehicle. It was a passerby who according to the wife’s statement, took him (Inspector Onori) to Ogwashi-Uku police station before he was confirmed dead.
“As I speak,his body is in the morgue, ” he said.
Austin Onori said that the deceased, Inspector Onori 45 was an Inspector at Marine Police Station (Cable Point Asaba).
He added that the Okada rider and his passenger who hit the inspector’s vehicle didn’t even sustain injuries in the earlier accident that led to the policeman’s death.
According to him, police interviewed an eyewitness, who said that the Okada rider was the one who hit the inspector Onori ‘s vehicle from behind, adding that nobody died or sustained any serious injury.
When contacted, DSP Bright Edafe, Police Public Relations Officer PPRO at the Delta State Police Command said that investigation was ongoing with a view to ensuring that the Okada rider is arrested alongside others.
At press time, text message sent to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Edafe Bright, was not replied.