The Owelle of Onicha-Olona, Chief Jerry Nkeweshe, has demanded an immediate withdrawal of a statement issued by the Delta State Police Command alleging that he led armed men who reportedly killed three youths in Okwe community near Asaba on Monday.
Briefing the press in Asaba, Chief Nkeweshe, through his Counsel, Kelechi Nnadi, Esq; of S. Kerechi Nnadi & Co., said he was responding to a publication and press statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, which named him as a suspect in the incident arising from a land dispute.
“My name is Kerechi Nnadi, a Lawyer and Head of S. Kerechi Nnadi and Co. This briefing is in response to the publication by the Police Public Relations Officer accusing my client, Chief Jerry Nkeweshe, of allegedly murdering about three youths at Okwe over a piece of land”, he said.
Barr. Nnadi maintained that his client was not in Okwe, Asaba, or anywhere around the area on the day of the incident.
“Unfortunately, my client was not near Asaba or Okwe or anywhere around this area throughout Monday.
“He was at Umunede attending to his health and was there in the company of certain persons whose names I am permitted to mention”, the Counsel stated.
He added that Chief Nkeweshe returned from Umunede later in the evening and came straight to her office, insisting that he could not have led any armed group.
“How come he led armed men to recover a piece of land in Okwe when he is not the owner of the said land?” she queried.
According to the Lawyer, his client had intelligence reports suggesting that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Abaniwonda, authorized policemen to visit Okwe for a land recovery operation.
“It was Olufemi Abaniwonda, the Commissioner of Police, who authorized some policemen to go to Okwe to execute the recovery of land.
“He had meetings with the people before he deployed the police yesterday, in his office on the 19th of November. Let him deny it”, he insisted.
He further questioned reports that the attackers wore military camouflage.
“So does it mean he asked them to dress in military camouflage to go and kill people?
“So the Commissioner of Police is complicit in the death of the youths that died at Okwe. Let him deny it. We have intelligence reports”, Barr Nnadi affirmed.
Barr. Nnadi claimed this was not the first time her client had been targeted.
“The last time, he connived with the Chairman of Aniocha North, Hon. Emmanuel Chinye Bazim, to cook up a fake and fictitious allegation of cyber-terrorism against my client”, he said.
He added that the matter only subsided after pressure was mounted on the Inspector General of Police, who directed the AIG to investigate.
“The truth came to light that there was no such publication by my client, not in any place, in any format, in any blogosphere.”
According to him, the current development represented another attempt to damage her client’s reputation.
“This is not the second time the Commissioner of Police is attempting and doing this in the territory of the totalitarian image of my client. I will not allow this to slide”, he vowed.
Barr. Nnadi said a legal action was being considered against the Commissioner of Police and the PPRO.
“We are going to take action against the Commissioner of Police for defamation and for framing him up in a manner which he is criminally responsible and complicit”, she warned.
“We are going to write to him to retract this publication within 14 days, failure of which we are going to sue him and sue Bright Edafe apart from taking other actions before the Police Service Commission.
“Is that how to police a state? You go to press and put a man’s life in harm’s way. The family of those who died may target this man and kill him, accusing him when he never did any such thing”, she noted.
The legal practitioner urged Journalists to investigate the true ownership of the disputed land and verify claims independently.
“We are asking the press to please balance their report and do investigation on their own. Who owns the land? Their names are not hidden from the Commissioner of Police. He met with both sides on the 19th in his office. So if somebody died there, he should know who to arrest.
“There is no connection whatever with the land. We are in Court over that issue. Let the Commissioner of Police provide the killers”, he said.
When contacted, the PPRO, SP Bright Edafe, said the statement followed the outcome of an investigation into the incident and challenged Chief Jerry Nkeweshe to come to the Police station and prove his innocence if he felt he was wrongly accused.
The Okwe killings have continued to heighten tension, with residents and stakeholders calling for a transparent investigation and the prosecution of those responsible.
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