The Abia State Police Command has warned residents against taking laws into their hands or resorting to jungle justice.
Spokesperson of the command, Maureen Chinaka, made the call while reacting to the lynching of a father of one identified as Ikechi Kalu, who was accused of stealing a motorcycle in Ndi Okpo Ihechiowa in Arochukwu Local Government Area of the state in November 2023.
The PPRO Chinaka called on Abia residents to report any suspected criminals or alleged defaulters of laws and allowed the police to take up the matters in accordance with the law.
She added that some persons who indulged in jungle justice have already been arrested, saying more would be apprehended.
Meanwhile, a concerned Abia citizen, Chief Abraham Amah,JP Ikoro Ukwu, Ihechiowa in Arochukwu LGA, Abia state has petitioned the Director, Department of State Services ( DSS) in the state over the killing of Ikechi Kalu.
In a press briefing in Umuahia, Elder Abraham, a traditional title holder in Ihechiowa, told newsmen that while he is not in any way supporting stealing of any form but the inhuman treatment meted out to the said Ikechi Kalu where he was butchered in broad day light as seen in a viral video is inhuman and the culprits of this barbaric act must be brought to book.
Gentlemen of the Press, it is with a deep sense of loss and unquantifiable grief that I stand before you today to address you on the horrific and senseless extra-judicial and barbaric killing of one Mr. Ikechi Kalu of Ndi Amuwa compound, Ndi Okpo Ihechiowa at the village square of Ndi Okpo Ihechiowa, Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State on November 19, 2023, after he was accused of stealing a motorbike which was also recovered," he said.
"The sad part of this crime against humanity is that Ikechi Kalu, a married man and father of one was tied up and butchered mercilessly with knives and clubs in broad daylight under cheering and watchful eyes of co-perpetrators who supervised the killing by videoing the sad atrocious crime with accompanying voice notes and circulated on internet. These videos and voice notes serve as overwhelming piece of evidence against the perpetrators and have been made available to investigators.
"As a Justice of Peace and conscience of society, I condemn in the strongest terms possible, the stealing of anybody’s property and shielding any thief from prosecution and facing the long arm of the law. In the same vein, I am against anybody or group of individuals taking the laws into their hands to act as prosecutor, jury, judge and executioner in a case that eventually led to meting out jungle justice on an individual without fair hearing and trial in a constituted court of competent jurisdiction
"For days after this crime was committed, efforts by the village union to report the matter to the police have been frustrated by some powerful people in the community who are hell bent on sweeping the heinous crime under the carpet and allow the perpetrators to go unpunished.
"Following my insistence with some like-minded people in the village that this crime must not be swept under the carpet and perpetrators emboldened to look for more preys, threats have been made on my life and that of my family by some members of the community who even threatened to expel me and my family from my village and burn down my houses. Those threats are documented in written forms and would serve as evidence in due time.
"Despite these threats, I remain undeterred and would go to any length to ensure that the perpetrators of this atrocious crime are brought to justice because I believe that any murder that goes unpunished takes away something from the security of every living person.
"I also believe that when bad behaviour is rewarded, it gets worse and the best I can do as an individual and working as a collective with other men of peace and goodwill is to ensure this bad behaviour is not rewarded by letting it go unpunished.
"I have come here today to inform you, gentlemen of the press, that after series of consultations with my people in the village who are against protecting the murderers, I have on behalf of Ndi Okpo community, sent a petition to the State Director of State Security Services, SSS Abia State Command, Umuahia, asking him and the agency to thoroughly investigate, apprehend and bring to justice the killers of Ikechi Kalu and bring his soul to rest and serve as a deterrence to would-be offenders of the crime of extra-judicial killing and also bring the needed peace, law and order in Ndi Okpo and Ihechiowa community at large.
"I call on all men of good conscience to join me in fighting for justice for Ikechi Kalu and others who have fallen victims to such senseless and barbaric killing and above all, to forestall a recurrence of such barbaric acts in the future, especially in Ndi Okpo and Ihechiowa
“I thank members of the civil society organisations, all sons and daughters of Ndi Okpo and Ihechiowa and the general public who have weighed in on this matter to condemn and reject the dastardly act of taking an innocent man’s life under the most gruesome, cruel and traumatizing circumstances."
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