Late Chima Ikwunado: Police orders fresh autopsy

Late Chima Ikwunado: Police orders fresh autopsy

Monday, January 27, 2020 12:27 am


Chima: allegedly tortured to death by police

… Commander of E-Crack team summoned to Abuja, still under investigation.
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Police authorities have nullified the controversial autopsy results conducted by the E-Crack Officers  of the Rivers State Police Command in ,Port Harcourt, on late Chima Ikwunado, an auto-mechanic, who died in their detention cell.

The new autopsy is to be conducted must be conducted in the present of the representatives of the members of the family of the late Chima Ikwunado.
An initial autopsy examination report had allegedly claimed that the late Chima Ikwunado died of diabetes complications.
Force Public Relations Officer,DCP Frank Mba, on live television explained that the police is yet to carry out any disciplinary actions on any of the accused officers of E-Crack Unit because investigations are still ongoing
He, however, said officers of the E-Crack had been summoned to Abuja for questioning.
“The Officer in charge of the E-Crack team has been summoned to Police headquarters, Abuja.l am significantly involved. And as soon as he finished, he has made his statements, he has furnished  us his case files with some documents, including a postmortem report  (autopsy) conducted on the body. But we needed to complete our investigations.
“We are also proposing repeating the postmortem examination. This time around we want to make sure that the representative of the family of the deceased are involved.”
DCP Mba, however,condoled the family of the late Chima Ikwunado and Rivers State, asserting the primary responsibility of the Police is to ensure that the lives of every Nigerian is preserved.
“The only thing l can tell the family of the deceased, friends and every citizen, particularly in Port Harcourt,Rivers State is to say that our heart goes out to the family. The death of every Nigerian is painful. Even when we engage on Kidnappers and armed robbery and they die we don’t celebrate it. This is because our core-calling is to preserve life”.
Similarly, the State Police Command claims that it has no released the body of the late Chima Ikwunado because the family has not officially come to ask for it.
Recall that the family of the late Chima had accused the Police of denying them access to his body and that the late Chima Ikwunado died out of torture.
The Police Spokesman DSP Nnamdi Omoni, speaking on a live radio programme in Port Harcourt denied the allegation, urging the family members of the late Chima to approach the Commissioner of Police,CP Mustapha Dandaura.
Omoni also denied that the  E-Crack team of the Police tortured the suspects in order to get confessional statements from them.

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