MR GODWIN AKPO ALIVE AND SEEKING HELP
Mr Godwin Ekpo currently being admitted, called for help for his children, saying their education had been affected by the incident.
Godwin and his wives who were victims of police brutality were shot by a team of policemen attached to Isheri Osun Police Division in Alimosho local government area on Wednesday last week.
Godwin and Idongesit were returning from a church in his tricycle on Wednesday when they met a police checkpoint on Obalagbe bus stop, Ijegun.
The
policemen, who were said to be extorting money from tricycle operators
at the time, reportedly became angry after Godwin’s tricycle brushed
their van.
Museliu was said to have opened fire on the tricycle, killing Idongesit and injuring Godwin.
The father of four told our correspondents that life had become difficult for him as he could no longer breathe well.
Recalling the incident, he said, “My wife and children had gone to church, while I went to work.
“My wife later called me that they were
through with church. I went to pick them around 9pm. When we got to the
Obalagbe bus stop, we saw some policemen discussing with some people.
“As we were passing the bus stop, one of
the policemen hit me on motion with the butt of his gun. As I was about
to park the tricycle, I heard gunshots and my wife fell down. The bullet
also brushed my jaw.
“I heard my children shouting, ‘Mummy,
mummy.’ I then went to my wife and saw blood gushing from her head. I
screamed at the policemen, ‘You, people have killed my wife. What have I
done?’ Some women also rushed to the scene.
“The damage that the police have done to
my life is huge. I am pleading with the Lagos State Government, the
police commissioner and the good people of Nigeria to come to my aid. I
want them to help me so that I will be back on my feet.”
“I cannot eat or breathe well. I cannot
even swallow my spit; it is affecting my throat. They have killed my
wife. My children are no longer going to school. My newborn baby has
been crying seriously. I want Nigerians to assist me,” he added.
A relative, Victor Udom, criticised the attitude of the police authorities towards the family, saying they had abandoned them.
Udom said the police abandoned Godwin in
the hospital and did not pay the money for his surgery until the
intervention of a human rights activist, Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin.
He said, “The police, who are supposed to protect our lives are the ones destroying us.
“They have already killed my sister and the man who is supposed to be the breadwinner of the family is now hospitalised.
Odumakin, President, Women Arise for
Change, who also led a delegation to visit Godwin, said the police
should subject its officers to psychiatric tests, as extrajudicial
killings in the country were becoming unbearable.
She said, “I think this is becoming a
recurring decimal; policemen should henceforth be subjected to
psychiatric tests. My heart bleeds for the family.
“The state and federal governments should raise a trust fund for the children, and give them scholarships.
“The police authorities too must be made to pay for the education of these children as far as they can go.”
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