Man Disabled By Police Sends SOS To Gov. Udom, Onofiok Luke, Ors

By UbongAbasi Ise

Mr. Victor Otu David, 36, has stayed incapacitated for over a year after his right shin was shattered by a gunshot allegedly fired at him on a close range by Joseph Udourioh, the  Divisional Police Officer, DPO, then serving at Okobo Division at Okopedi Police Station and was now posted to Ikot Edibon in Nsit Ubium local government area.

Speaking with our correspondent recently, Mr. Victor David said he could no longer cater for the wellbeing of his young family which consists of a wife, a nine-month son and a daughter of about 2 years of age.

He said all the money he ever made while working at Okopedi Motor Park before the incident occurred has gone for treatment of a nagging leg problem, and he is distressfully calling for the state authority to come to his aid.

Having felt abandoned by DPO Udourioh, who allegedly shot at his leg on February 17, 2018, Mr. David called on the attention of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel; the Speaker of the House of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Barr. Onofiok Luke; His Royal Majesty, E.O. Isemin (Ahya Oro VII); the youth of Okobo; and Akwa Ibom State Human Rights Community to come to his remedy as the ordeal has taken a huge toll on his health and the wellbeing of his family. 

On how the incident all started, Victor David told our correspondent that he was amongst the onlookers when police raided Esit’s compound along Wisdom Road in Okopedi on two occasions on February 17, 2018 for robbery suspects. First they arrested a suspect simply known as Kufre, and he (Victor David) was asked by the police to assist them in unlocking the gate to the compound, after which he returned to his place of work. At about 3.00 pm, David said he was greeted with the news that the police had returned to the area having recovered the stolen properties. With this news, he went once again to the scene with his workplace colleague, Mr. Emana Attah.  On reaching there to witness the unfolding event, he found DPO Joseph Udourioh with the community leaders, amongst whom were Chief Imo Efiong, the village head, and Mr. Emman Johnson, the Okopedi motor park chairman.

What the DPO did, according to Victor David, was to cock AK47 rifle and shot into the air following his failed attempts with other guns on the first two attempts, after which he ordered David and his colleague, Mr. Emana Attah, into the police Hilux, and they were taken to the Okobo police station.

David recounted how DPO Udourioh interrogated him on arriving the station in order to find out if he knew the identity of the suspects of the crime. After he stated severally that he had no idea of who the suspects were, Victor David said the DPO then took him to behind his office, and shot at his shin after missing previous targets.

In David’s words, “We entered the Hilux and they took us to the police station; we were left at the counter. Later on, the DPO sent for me, and I was taken to somewhere behind his office where other two policemen were standing. Then the DPO asked me: “were you the one that opened the gate for my men?” and I said yes. He then asked me to tell the truth if I know those boys that stole those properties. I said No, and that I only came to witness the incident. At that point the DPO fired the gun close to my left leg. He shot the second time, and the third time, he shot at my right leg.”

Having, probably, came to realize that Mr. Victor David has no hand in the crime, DPO Joseph Udourioh took the victim in the police van to a hospital in Iquita in Oron but the management turned down admitting Mr. David into their facility, and he was later admitted into the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in Uyo by the time he lost consciousness apparently due to hemorrhaging. 

After more than a week in the Emergency Unit, the victim was later taken to Orthopedic Unit at the same hospital where a six inches bone at the affected region was severed and iron fixed to help support the ligaments. He also recalled how his wife, who was heavily pregnant at the time, delivered of a baby boy at the same hospital and the family condition became aggravated.

The victim had admitted to our correspondent that DPO Joseph Udourioh had borne his hospital bill at the initial stage, but has since abandoned him to face his own predicament.

Meanwhile the Akwa Ibom State Human Rights Community in a petition to the state Commissioner of Police, dated February 7, 2019, and signed by its coordinator, Barr. Clifford Thomas, has noted how the DPO apologized to the victim but confessed that he had killed several persons in the like manner and nothing happened.

The human rights body has called on the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police to launch a full scale investigation into the case with a view to getting to the bottom of the matter.

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