Commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators in Delta State have called on the police to ensure that those responsible for the killing of their colleague, Chinaza Sunday, during political violence in Asaba are arrested and prosecuted.
The operators made the demand on Monday during a protest at the Delta State Police Command headquarters, where they submitted a petition seeking justice for the deceased.
The demonstration, organised by the Commercial Motorcycles and Tricycles Operators Association (COMTOA), started from Summit Road, with members carrying placards as they marched to the police headquarters.
Sunday was reportedly killed during a violent confrontation on Saturday involving supporters of the Obidient/OK Movement, which had organised a procession in support of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress.
Receiving the protesters, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Administration, Philip Adejo, assured the association that the command would investigate the incident and ensure that justice was served.
He appealed to the operators not to resort to self-help, warning that taking the law into their own hands could create further problems.
“We have received your petition. Sometimes self-help can become a serious problem. We sympathise with you; go home and rest because you will see results. It is not going to be like other situations,” Adejo said.
He also encouraged the association’s leaders to cooperate with investigators by providing relevant information that could help establish what happened.
“Your leaders can meet us, and if you have any strong information concerning this, you can come to us so that we can iron it out together,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the association, a member of its Board of Trustees, Okeoghene Kingsley, said Sunday was carrying out his legitimate business when he was killed.
Kingsley described COMTOA as an organised association that had operated in Delta State for more than 30 years, including under successive military and civilian administrations.
He said the association expected the police to investigate the killing and bring those responsible to justice.
“The young man that was murdered was at his duty post carrying out his legitimate duty, where he met his untimely death. As you have said, we want to believe that we have confidence in the Nigerian Police that they will do justice to this issue and those persons should be brought to book,” he said.
Kingsley further disclosed that the association was ready to assist the investigation with relevant evidence, including video footage and information about individuals allegedly connected to the incident.
He dismissed any suggestion that the deceased was involved in criminal activities or political thuggery, insisting that members of the association were law-abiding citizens.
“Chinasa has not been an armed robber. He has not been a thug or a political thug. Everybody you are seeing here is going about our lawful duties. Nobody here is a thug,” he stated.
He also maintained that members of the association had the right to support political groups of their choice, provided they operated within the law.
“Everybody here has the right to belong to anybody he likes to belong to because there is freedom of association, which includes lawful assembly,” Kingsley added.
The killing occurred on Saturday, November 7, along Nnebisi Road in Asaba during a procession organised by the Obidient/OK Movement in support of Obi.
The violence reportedly left one person dead and five others injured.
The Delta State Police Command, through its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, had earlier disclosed that it received intelligence indicating a possibility of violence before the procession.
According to the police, the organisers were invited to a security meeting and advised against holding an open street march but allegedly ignored the warning.
The Delta State Government also blamed the organisers for failing to follow security advice, arguing that the confrontation could have been avoided if the procession had been moved to a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be made.
However, the Nigerian Democratic Congress rejected the explanations given by the police and state government, describing the incident as a deliberate attack on opposition supporters.
The party demanded an independent investigation, the arrest of those responsible and the public disclosure of the identities of the deceased and injured persons.
The police had earlier said the identities of the victims were yet to be established, while investigations into the incident were ongoing.
The post Delta tricycle operators demand justice over colleague killed in political violence appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
