A 45-year-old police inspector, Festus Onori, was on Sunday killed by a mob, suspected to be Fulani Okada riders in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to The PUNCH, the deceased was lynched to death in the presence of his wife and children on their way to church on Sunday.
Narrating the incident, the deceased’s elder brother, Austin Onori, said Inspector Onori was on his way to church with his wife and three children when a commercial motorcyclist said to be of Fulani extraction hit his vehicle from behind in Okpanam.
He said, “My brother drove a distance of about one pole after the minor accident to park properly and came down to ensure that the Okada man and his passenger were unhurt only for more than 20 men to pursue him with sticks and clubs, prompting the deceased to run back into his car.
“As my brother drove off for fear of being lynched, the Okada riders pursued him and as they continued to chase him, their numbers increased.
“When he got to Marble Hill (Okpanam) he diverted through that road to express thinking that his chasers would be discouraged and retreat. Behold, they pursued him down to Ogwashi-Uku Community even facing Kwale when the fuel in his vehicle got exhausted on the Ogwashi-Uku-Kwale expressway.
“At that time, his pursuers’ numbers increase. Then, they mobbed him to death in the presence of his wife and three children.
“They also destroyed his vehicle. It was a passerby, who according to the wife’s statement, carried the Inspector Onori to Ogwashi-Uku police station before he was confirmed dead.
Austin said that the deceased, Onori, was an Inspector at Marine Police Station Cable Point Asaba.
According to him, the wife narrated that the Okada rider and his passenger who hit the inspector’s vehicle at the back did not sustain injuries in the earlier accident that led to her husband’s death.
The Police Public Relations Officer Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, said he was yet to get official information on the incident.
He said, “I have not gotten official information on the incident and so cannot comment on the matter.”
