Nigerian Police Involve In Cover-Up As Officers Shoot Dead 300-Level University Of Port-Harcourt Student, Family Seeks Justice
By The9JaTREND
The Police in Rivers State have been accused of fatally shooting a 300-level student of the University of Port Harcourt as well as attempting to conceal the incident.
The grieving family of the deceased alleged that the police were responsible for the death of twenty-three-year-old Godwin Akpakpan, who had been missing since April 16.
Godwin, the third of seven children – four boys and three girls – was described by relatives as “gentle and full of life.”
A devastated family source explained, “My brother went missing last Wednesday on his way back from watching an Arsenal match. He is a student of Uniport, Level 300, Faculty of Education.”
“The next day, being Thursday, 17th April 2025, my aunt and some of his course mates called his phone, and a police officer answered, asking them to come to the State CID, Department of Homicide,” the source continued, the pain evident in their voice.
Upon arriving at the State CID station, the family said their worst fears deepened when a police officer coldly read out a statement claiming that Godwin had been shot and killed by an army personnel in a mini-bus.
They were not given any copy of the statement or a formal document to authorize them to identify his body at the mortuary – only more confusion and agony.
According to the IPO’s statement, the Police alleged that “Godwin was in a mini bus heading home when a police patrol team from the Dragon Division (SARS Road PH) stopped and searched the bus. They allegedly found hard drugs, arrested everyone, and were taking them to the station when they encountered an Army checkpoint in front of a hotel.”
The police further claimed that a supposed “soldier” opened fire in an attempt to rescue the arrested persons from the police officers, “so the bullet mistakenly passed through the mini bus and killed the deceased.”
But the family’s doubts grew heavier.
“The police officer asked us to return to the station on Wednesday, but when we got there, we were made to wait until 3:20pm. When the officer finally arrived, he told us to come back the next day, being Thursday, 24th April,” the source added with frustration.
“The IPO read the statement again, and we were shown the mini-bus. We then insisted on seeing the corpse. So, we went to UPTH mortuary where the corpse was deposited by the Anti-Cultism Dragon Base Division. At the mortuary, the body was in a deplorable state with sand all over it. We observed two gunshot wounds on the stomach, bruises on both hands and forehead, and an injury on the back,” the source said, their voice cracking with sorrow.
The family said that after viewing the disfigured body, they proceeded to the Anti-Cultism Dragon Division, where the IPO held a hushed meeting with some officers before returning with three others.
Suspicion grew stronger as they noticed inconsistencies between the address on the official statement and the actual location they were led to.
They also challenged the police’s version of events, emphasising that police personnel had actively discouraged them from properly investigating the scene.
“One of them suggested a small team visit the incident scene. However, when we got there, the address didn’t match the statement, and the police officer warned us not to get out of the car due to safety concerns, saying that those soldiers are useless and might shoot us if we try to investigate. I refused to obey and investigated further, and the IPO became upset, refusing to continue the investigation,” a family member recounted, anger simmering beneath their words.
The family is now firmly convinced that the police, not the military, were behind Godwin’s untimely death.
“This is not an Army shooting. Army officials are not usually at that location. It is the Police. This is not the first time they are doing this kind of thing, and it would not be the last time they would do it,” the source said bitterly.
Family members disclosed that the incident occurred along the East-West Road, near Alakaya, where Godwin had lived before his death.
“He lives at Alakaya, and the statement the Police gave us is that he was shot at SARS Road in Port Harcourt. No one has been held responsible for his shooting, nor have they provided any explanation for why they shot him,” the source lamented.
According to the family, Godwin’s body had already been taken to the mortuary by a police officer, identified as Inspector Festus from the Homicide Department of the State CID, without their knowledge.
“The Police took him to the mortuary all the while we were looking for him, before we even found out that he had been shot dead,” they said, their grief mixed with outrage.
Images obtained of the mini-bus involved, which showed a bullet hole, and confirmed its plate number as YAB-476XG. Photographs of Godwin’s body seen revealed extensive bruises and injuries consistent with the family’s painful account.
When SaharaReporters contacted Grace Iringe-Koko, the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, she asked if the case had been officially reported to a Police station. After receiving an affirmative response along with details of the involved police unit, she has yet to comment further as of the time of filing this report. (SaharaReporters)
