Sports Briefs
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THE House of Representatives has summoned Ibrahim Idris, inspector general of police, over the alleged extra-judicial killing of Izu Joseph, a footballer with Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC of Ibadan, in Bayelsa State. The House at plenary on Wednesday, October 26, resolved to investigate the circumstances of the killings which occurred in Okarki Community, a border town between Rivers State and Bayelsa State a fortnight ago.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Diri Douye (Bayelsa PDP). Douye noted that if the trend of extra judicial killings by security agencies is left unchecked, it may lead to a breakdown of law and order, in a situation where citizens would be forced to defend themselves from attacks from the very police who have been paid by taxpayers to protect them. “While it is the duty of the police to maintain civil law in our society, it is expected that such function is to be carried out with utmost care and respect for human life,” the lawmaker said.
Contributing to the motion, Ossai Nicholas Ossai (Delta PDP) said the parliament must rise against issues of extra judicial murder of citizens by security agencies. “The State is supposed to protect the citizens, not murder them,” Ossai noted.
Earlier, youths of Ijaw descent under the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, had demanded that the military officers that killed Joseph and other youths from the Okarki community must be fished out and made to face the law for the extra-judicial actions. “We also demand that the military officers who carried out this extra-judicial murder be brought to justice. President Buhari and his government’s claim to the rule of law is on trial”, the IYC noted.
The IYC, headquartered in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, further accused the federal government of treating the indigenes of the Niger Delta like animals and people of little importance. Spokesman of IYC, Eric Omare, insisted that the duo of Izu and Oko Osuekina were shot at very close range.
The umbrella body for Nigerian professional footballers, NANPF, had similarly demanded that perpetrators of the killings be brought to face justice. NANPF has promised to launch a nationwide protest on the killing.
— Nov 7, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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