Ikokwu 4 on their way to court

… Ikokwu traders also threaten to shut down their businesses in protest

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Rivers State has given the Rivers State Police Command 48 hours to make available the autopsy report conducted on the corpse the late Chima Ikwunado, the  Port Harcourt auto mechanic who died in the custody of the police

Chairman of the Coalition, Enefaa Georgewill, threatened that if the autopsy report is not made available to the family of the late Ikwunado  and concerned stakeholders after 48 hours, the Civil society organisations may be forced to take action.

“We have applied for the Autopsy report to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, and of course to Commissioner of Police, Rivers State. It is  our believe that in the next 48 hours the autopsy should be available. But if they failed, we have no choice but to call them out”.

Chima: allegedly tortured to death by police

Also, the Chairman of Ikokwu Motors spare parts dealers in Port Harcourt, Chief Anthony Iwu Alaribeole, has threatened that if the result of the autopsy is not released, the traders will shut down the business.

Ikokwu Motor spare parts market is the largest auto-spare parts market in Rivers State.

The Ikokwu 5, including the late Ikwunado, the Auto-Mechanic plied their trade at Ikokwu market.

It will be recalled that they were arrested in December 2019,while test-driving cars they were repairing for their customers by the Eagle Crack Squad of Rivers Police Command, popularly called “Commissioner’s Boys” , headed by SP Benson Adetuyi , but directly answerable to CP Mustapha Dandaura.

There were thrown into detention and tortured severely leading to the death of late Chima.

The Police also inflicted permanent bodily harm to the surviving four men – Victor Ogbonna, Osaze Friday, Ifeanyi Osuji and Ifeanyi  Onyekwere.

Chima died on December 23 and the Police initially claimed that he died of high blood sugar!

The four were subsequently released from the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre after intensive campaign by Human rights groups, Civil Society organisations, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ikokwu Motor spare parts dealers.

A Magistrate Court also declared them innocent of all the charges.

Our correspondent reports that the family of the late Chima  and the pregnant wife of the deceased, Mrs Adaugo,  visited the SCID yesterday for the autopsy report, but left disappointed.

They were told to write directly to the State Commissioner of Police to request for it.

Meanwhile, the Police Homicide Department in Rivers State said it has only received the first phase of the autopsy report.

The police officer who attended to the family said that they would await the results of the samples that were sent to forensic laboratory to get the final result of the autopsy conducted on the body of the late Ikwunado.