The recent extra-judicial killing of Ogbe Onokpite, a gubernatorial candidate in Delta State, Nigeria, by men of the Nigeria Police may lead to a total breakdown of law and order in the state unless justice is urgently done

By Odinaka ANUDU

On Saturday, November 26, 2011, the name of the vice-chairman of Urhobo New Face Association, UNFA, and gubernatorial candidate of Citizens’ Popular Party, CPP, in the January 2011 governorship re-run election and the April 2011 governorship elections in Delta State, Chief Ogbe Onokpite, was added to the endless list of those whose lives have been cut short in unfortunate and controversial circumstances in Nigeria. Nobody would have believed that the vibrant young man of 38 would have died in a circumstance which could best be described as terrible and controversial.

According to the findings of this magazine, Onokpite was killed at Beeland Hotel, Orhuwhorun Road in Udu LGA of Delta State by policemen in Warri. The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Tsafe, narrated that two of Onokpite’s boys were arrested with AK-47 rifles and other deadly weapons by undercover officers who intercepted a Honda car with registration number AM 528 JRT driven by one Malik Okorokporo. The boys escorted the police to the hotel where Onokpite was lodged and on seeing them, the deceased tried to escape and was consequently shot and killed by officers and men of the Nigeria Police. The Commissioner asserted that the suspects confessed that the rifles were to be delivered to one Collins Egbara, Chairman of Agaga Community, who is now at large. The police helmsman in the state denied that the killing had political connections and stated that it was just a criminal case that ought to be treated as one.

However, a petition filed by Festus Keyamo, counsel to the deceased’s family, on behalf of the Onokpite family, dated Monday, November 28, 2011, with the caption “Murder of a Governorship Candidate in Delta State: Call for Investigation”, and addressed to The Inspector-General of Police, Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja, faulted the Police Commissioner’s submission. It stated as follows: “We act on behalf of the members of the ONOKPITE and IGHOMRORE families of Okpe and Uvwie Local Governments in Delta State respectively represented by Chief V. E. Onokpite who is the elder brother to Chief Ogbe Onokpite. It is our brief that Chief Ogbe Onokpite (born 38 years ago) WHO WAS A GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE OF THE CITIZENS POPULAR PARTY IN APRIL 26TH GENERAL ELECTIONS HELD IN DELTA STATE was lodging at a hotel called Beeland Hotel situated at Orhuwhorun in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State when men of the Nigeria Police attached to the Police Area Command, Warri (in the company of other plain cloth unidentified persons) stormed the hotel to arrest Chief Ogbe Onokpite.

“On arrival at the said hotel, the police ordered the receptionist on duty at the hotel to show them the room where Chief Ogbe Onokpite was lodging. Out of extreme fear, the receptionist obeyed and took the policemen to Ogbe’s room and he was immediately arrested and brought out (to the open still within the hotel premises) and shot in the leg. Chief Ogbe was then carried out of the Hotel premises (still alive) in a vehicle bearing the inscription of the Nigeria Police, Area Command Warri to the Police Station at Warri where he was again shot in other more delicate parts of his body and left thereat to bleed to death…. Need we say that Chief Ogbe Onokpite has a right to life guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and nothing in this Constitution justifies extra-judicial killing of any person no matter the offence he may have committed.

“It is in the light of the foregoing, we are calling on you to employ your good offices to unravel and bring to book the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force involved in this illegal killing of Chief Ogbe Onokpite who, like any other citizen of Nigeria is presumed innocent until proved guilty. The Onokpite family is prepared and are urgently requesting for a Coroners’ Inquest to be made in order to obtain the autopsy report and a full Criminal Investigation Report of the murder of an innocent citizen. The lifeless body of Ogbe Onokpite has been dumped at the morgue in the Central Hospital Warri, Delta State. We look forward to an expeditious treatment of this petition in the interest of justice and for the benefit of the bereaved family members.”

The petition was copied to Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aso Villa, Abuja; the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Abuja; Chairman, Committee on Public Petitions (SENATE), National Assembly, Abuja; and Chairman, Committee on Public Petitions (House of Representatives), National Assembly, Abuja.

From these accounts, Nigerian OrientNews learnt that many people in Delta State, especially politicians, feel that Onokpite’s killing was strange. It was gathered that the former United States-based Urhobo man had often made it a habit to launch criticisms against the present government for what an analyst called “irresponsible government in Delta”.

One of our reporters was provided with a copy of a local newspaper where the late opposition politician vented his spleen on the performances of the state government and the state House of Assembly. In an interview with Ese Adagbra of Urhobo Voice, the late politician asked the State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan rather than suspend sitting on the basis of the fact that there was non-completion of projects in their constituencies. In that report, the late Onokpite was quoted as saying: “The House is a mess. Deltans do not have confidence in them. Their performance so far has been very poor, whether PDP or DPP. They are looking for money. They are failures, except the member representing Ukwuani state constituency. If they have the guts to impeach Uduaghan, let them do it. Uduaghan deserves to be impeached because he does not have the qualities to be governor. He is squandering our money because he knows the people did not vote for him.”

According to Nigerian OrientNews further findings, the deceased was always criticizing injustices meted to Deltans, especially the Urhobo nation, whether at the federal or state level. One respondent, Ukachi Ebiere, suggested that his death was not unconnected with his severe criticisms of government officials in Delta State who were “after their own pockets”. But there were few who saw no reason why the murder could be linked to the state since the deceased was not the major opposition candidate of the PDP.

As it is, many questions continue to bog the minds of Deltans. One, why did the police shoot Onokpite who would simply have been regarded as innocent until found guilty? Two, does any part of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria justify extra-judicial killing of a Nigerian, despite the offence he committed? Third, even if Onokpite was the kingpin, did the police find any implicating object in his room that would warrant his murder, even if he really ran on seeing them? Fourth, who will conduct an objective investigation into this murder, the police or an independent body? These questions beg for answers. And Deltans, especially the Urhobo nation, would want clear-cut answers so that there would be no room for intense hatred between the Urhobo and another ethnic nationality, such as the Itsekiri.