There is heated outrage in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital over the alleged extra-judicial of a 20-year old upcoming musician, Chibuike Daniel Dominic, alias ‘Sleek’ by trigger happy operatives of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The killing of ‘Sleek’ has effectively amplified the call for the disbandment of that unit, which has brought more opprobrium to the Police than glory.
One of the angry Nigerians who have condemned the egregious act of the Police is the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who, in a swift reaction via his Twitter handle, decried the activity of the SARS operatives, describing it as a menace to society, calling for its reform or outright disbandment.
Though the Rivers State Police Command has since detained the erring policemen, the Sleek’s family, who say he is an up-and-coming artiste with dreams of greatness, has teamed up with some civil society organizations (CSOs) to launch the #JusticeforSleek campaign on some social media platforms demanding justice for the slain musician.
Nigerians are currently calling for drastic measures to be taken to reform the SARS or better still scrap it given its inglorious track record.
The SARS operatives were said to have allegedly shot and killed ‘Sleek’ at Exelcis junction right in front of Topic Supermarket, along the Elelenwo Road in Port Harcourt yesterday.
Eyewitnesses say the victim was in the company of his friend when they encountered the SARS operatives and fled. They were chased until a police officer attached to Topic Supermarket fired shots at them that eventually killed ‘Sleek’.
The victim’s sister, Maureen Dominic, who resides at 103 Woji Road alleged that the SARS operatives put Sleek and his friend in a tricycle and drove to Elelenwo Police Division where Sleek gave up.
She also accused the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Elelenwo of complicity in the extra judicial killing of her brother, revealing that the DPO took her brothers corpse to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Alakahia, where it was deposited in the morgue under a false identity.
The victim’s friend, Reuben Paul, who was later released by the Police, said he pleaded with the SARS operatives to take Sleek to the hospital but they refused.
He accused them of beating him and confiscating their phones and bag, alleging that he fled upon sighting the SARS operatives because he was a victim of SARS brutality and extortion recently.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the police officers are seen chasing people away from the scene while the victim lay on the floor.
An eyewitness, who craved anonymity, confirmed that the SARS operatives made no effort to save the victim when they saw that he had nothing incriminating on him. She, however, could not confirm if he was still alive after he was shot.
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