A police sergeant identified as Iseke Korodama has reportedly been shot dead by a police inspector, simply identified as Okebata.
The incident which happened on Wednesday midnight August 10, took place at Agwa- Ejemekwuru Road in the Oguta Local Government Area of the state.
It was also learnt that three other police officers and their civilian driver were injured.
Police sources told Punch that the inspector that allegedly shot his colleague is from the Ambassador Unit of the Police Tactical Unit at the command headquarters but was on duty in Egbema.
A source said; “The victims are the operatives from the Surveillance team of the command headquarters. The attacking team is from the Ambassador Unit.”
Another source revealed that the victims were riding in an unmarked vehicle when they were attacked.
He said;
“It was an operational error. The offensive team mistook them to be criminals who were on their way to attack Ogboaku police station.”
Those injured have been identified as Inspector Saviour Isong, Inspector Samuel Chukwuekezi, Sergeant Okija Darlington, and the driver, Emmanuel Onyemana.
The driver, conveying the team in a minibus before the attack, is still in critical condition. A police source was also heard telling his colleague;
“These men, especially Inspector Korodama, had worked with the Officer Commanding (O. C) Ambassadors Squad, Egbema, Inspector Chikadia Okebata (‘Kill and Bury’) at Egbema and they met each other that same night before the incident.
“The policemen got a signal that a group of bandits were preparing an attack and were headed their way, so they positioned to intercept the hoodlums.
” So when an unmarked Mini-bus moving at night with heavily armed occupants came their way, they mistook them for the hoodlums and tried to demobilize them.
“That is what I heard until we see an official statement from the command.”
Another source told the publication that Inspector Iseke Korodama and the driver were rushed to the hospital the same Wednesday night.
While the Inspector was pronounced dead on arrival, the driver was treated and allowed to go on Thursday.
Other casualties, Saviour Isong, Samuel Chukwuekezi, and Okija Darlington, who came to the clinic on Thursday, were treated for their injuries, and discharged the same day.
