Tension has enveloped the Officers’ Barracks of the Warri Area Command of the Nigeria Police in Delta State as the son of a serving Inspector resident in the barracks has reportedly stabbed a fellow resident to death following a misunderstanding.
The police son named as Destiny Ogbantu, a student of Madonna University, lost his temper amidst the skirmishes and stabbed a neighbour, one Onyebuchi Emeka, to death within the vicinity of their Block D, Warri Barracks apartments.
The gory incident reportedly occurred in the evening of Friday, September 22, 2023.
Witnesses said that following an altercation between the duo, Destiny suddenly rushed to his father’s apartment upstairs and picked a knife and a dagger, and on coming down, chased Onyebuchi for a few moments across other blocks to the east end of the barracks, till he (Onyebuchi) fell into a gutter.
The witnesses said Onyebuchi was stabbed repeatedly at the back and deep into his chest by the Inspector’s son.
“All this was witnessed by residents of the barracks, including the mother of the alleged suspect and his siblings,” one of the witnesses, who would not want his name in print, said.
It was gathered that the victim was consequently rushed to a nearby private hospital by members of his family but was pronounced dead shortly after admission, having lost too much blood due to the veracity of the deep cuts.
Sources said that the mother of the suspected murderer, on seen the gravity of her son’s action, “instantly rushed back to their apartment inside the barracks, packed all her children, including the suspect, and absconded from the barracks till this moment”, while their whereabouts are still unknown as of the time of filing this report.
But the father of the suspect, Inspector Ogbantu, is said to have been “arrested as proxy for his son’s action” and is currently in police custody.
Meanwhile, the Delta State chapter of the Nigerian Civil Rights Council has intervened in the matter, urging the Nigeria Police Force not to sweep the matter under the carpet.
A unit Coordinator of the group, Comrade Ojumude Bishop, on Monday led a protest with some members, including the unit Secretary, Comrade James Udume, to the Area Commander of the Warri Area Police Command, demanding that justice should prevail for the slain young man.
They equally demanded that the father of the suspect, Inspector Ogbantu, should be compelled to make available his son to face the law without trying to arm-twist facts.
The Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, Bright Edafe, could not be reached for comments on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
