By Austin Ogwuda
A burial ceremony ended in fiasco at the weekend in Delta State when four armed policemen engaged to provide security during the occasion got drunk and opened fire indiscriminately, killing three persons on the spot.
The policemen, made up of a corporal and three constables narrowly escaped being lynched. They were, however, arrested.
The incident took place in Akoko village, Kwale, in Delta State. State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muka, confirmed the incident, adding that the affected policemen, attached to Kwale Police Divisional headquarters, had been arrested.
He said: “While the ceremony was going on, the policemen, namely Cpl Emmanuel Jacob, PC Ogala Osamudiamwan, PC Otutu Justine and PC Joseph Godspower, all attached to Kwale Division, got drunk and embarked on indiscriminate shooting. They accidentally shot three unknown persons dead. They have been arrested.”
Meanwhile, a 21-year-old youth from Oko-Amakom in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state was allegedly shot dead, weekend, by a soldier, following an argument that ensued over masquerade dance.
Trouble started when some soldiers attached to an oil prospecting company in the area ran into a group of masquerade dancers and killed a casual staff of the company.
The deceased, identified as a Mr. Osakwe, was shot after a group of boys from the community, escorting a masquerade, stopped the soldiers who were being conveyed in the company’s vehicle from passing. They said the masquerade must leave the road first on the ground that it was a taboo for visitors to catch glimpse of the masquerade.
It was reported that one of the soldiers, at the heat of the argument, allegedly shot him at close range, leading to his instant death.
This led to a face-off and it took the intervention of community leaders to stop the youths from lynching the soldiers and personnel of the companies after the incident.