The Delta Police Command on Monday dismissed a video clip alleging that operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) shot a man to death in Ughelli town, in Ughelli South local government area of the State.
The Command spokesperson, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya said in a statement on Monday in Asaba that the video, which went viral, was the handiwork of mischief makers.
“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force, Delta State Command has been drawn to trending online videos and posts alleging SARS Operatives of shooting a young man to death in Ughelli.
“The allegations in the online video about SARS operatives killing a young man in Ughelli are not only false, malicious and erroneous but also misleading.
“The victim was neither shot nor killed by the policemen. The policemen involved are not SARS operatives as earlier reported.
“The allegation is the handiwork of criminally-minded people who do not see anything good in the Police, but want Delta State to be in turmoil,’’ Onovwakpoyeya said.
The police image maker said the Command deemed it necessary to put the record straight and to state the facts of the matter as it happened.
According to her, operatives of Safe Delta Squad in Ughelli, who were on patrol along the Warri/Ughelli Road, Ughelli, on October 3, sighted a white Lexus Jeep which did not have a registration number.
She explained that on sighting the police patrol team, the driver sped off in a suspicious manner and was given a hot chase by the patrol team who intercepted the vehicle and arrested its two occupants.
“On the way to the police station, one of the suspects jumped out of the moving police patrol vehicle and sustained body and head injuries.
“While trying to rescue him, an angry mob came out to attack the policemen, a development which made the team to leave the scene with the second suspect in their patrol vehicle to avoid violent confrontation with the mob.
“Other police patrol teams were promptly mobilised to the scene, but were informed that the victim had been rushed to a private hospital in Ughelli by passers-by,’’ Onovwakpoyeya said.
She added that the patrol team visited the victim in the hospital where he was being treated and saw him alive and recuperating.
“The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Hafiz Inuwa, therefore, urges members of the public to discountenance the online video.
“The viral video is fake and a malicious publication as it has no connection with the incident in Ughelli,’’ Onovwakpoyeya stressed.
The police spokesperson recalled a similar incident where some kidnappers recently abducted a woman alongside her two children in her car in same Ughelli.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has also debunked social media reports that a youth was shot by the Police in Ughelli on Saturday.
Briefing journalists on Monday in Asaba, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu and Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr Ifeanyi Egwuyenga, said that there was no iota of truth in the report.
Aniagwu appealed to media practitioners to always verify their stories and ensure that what was published was the fact.
He said that the government owed it a duty to continue to promote security of lives and property and would ensure that the security agencies operate in a civil and democratic manner.
The commissioner said that it was the duty of the police and other security agencies to protect the people, adding that people should also respect them to ensure a peaceful environment.
He berated bloggers on social media for rushing to press without proper investigation, adding that there was need for journalists to exercise restraint before publishing their reports to avoid falsehood.
“Nobody was killed by police or any security agent in Ughelli; the youth, who was arrested by the police jumped out of the police vehicle and hit his head against something before being rushed to the hospital.
“The young man did not die, he is being attended to at the hospital in Ughelli.
“As a government, while we plead with the security agencies to always be civil and democratic in their approach, we also advise the people to show respect to security personnel.
“In as much as we appreciate that social media has done well and is a medium for youths to dissipate their energy, they must not use it as a platform for mischief and misinformation, but rather it should be used positively,” he said.
On his part, Egwuyega, said that the Ughelli incident came with lots of backlashes, but thanked God that the youths exercised restraints by not taking laws into their hands to disrupt social and economic activities in the area due to the misleading report.
He charged the youth to direct their energies to positive use by identifying and taking advantage of the various opportunities provided by the state government to develop themselves.
“I want to commend the youths of Ughelli for not acting out of control based on the falsehood.
“Youths have lots of energy and they can dissipate their energies both negatively and positively, but I want to urge the youths to use their energies positively,” Egwuyega said.