How policeman murdered my husband over N200 — Grieving widow
Evelyn Asiayei, widow of Bayelsa driver, Banalayefa Asiayei, said
she was at home when her neighbour from the market called around 8pm on Monday, 27 May 2024, that her husband had been shot dead.
“Upon hearing this, I called for the help of my neighbours as it was already late. We contacted my neighbour’s customer to ask if my husband was still at the scene, but we were informed that he had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
“As we were on our way, we met one of my husband’s friends who lives on our street. He took us to FMC in his vehicle.
“When I arrived at FMC, we asked at the gate, and they confirmed that someone had been rushed into the emergency ward.
I immediately alighted from the car and ran towards the emergency ward, where I saw my husband’s brother. I asked him where my husband was because I had already called his elder sister to inform her. My husband’s brother told me that my husband was in the car.
“When he told me this, I didn’t know how to feel. I went to the car and saw my husband inside. I asked if he had been attended to, but I was told that there was no need, as my husband was already dead.
This was someone I had seen around 6 pm that day. I couldn’t understand what had happened. He couldn’t be dead just like that.
That was how I received the news,” Banalayefa Asiayei said.
She said her late husban was killed by police officers who demanded N200 from him at a checkpoint.
“From an eyewitness account, I was told that the policemen stopped him. Let me add that when we were going to the market that morning, my husband’s Toyota Sienna vehicle stopped opposite Okaka because it was having issues.
According to the passenger, the policemen stopped my husband because they wanted to collect N200. Before they even shot him, he was already driving past them to park.
He had already stopped and was trying to park the car. Before he could park the car, they shot him.
That’s when all the passengers fled from the vehicle. One of the passengers at the front is someone who comes to the market and knows my husband. After shooting him, the policemen got out of their van to check on him.
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They did not even carry him to the hospital. Even if the shot was a mistake, why not rush the person to the hospital immediately? They left him, got back into their van, and drove away.”
She said when she was with him around 6 o’clock that evening when they were closing the market, he gave her money to go and cook, as he was supposed to drop me off before picking up passengers that evening.
“Since he was discussing with someone, he told us to go ahead so as not to keep us waiting, as I needed to cook. So, I took my children and went home.I left while he was still talking with the person in the shop. I sell attachments, soap, cream, clothes, bags, shoes, and other fashion items.
I also sell pure water and drinks. It’s just a small shop I manage. I sell a variety of things so that if I don’t get patronage for one product, I might for another.”
She said her late husband’s brothers were angry.
“From the hospital, they took him to the Government House, since it was a policeman who shot him.
According to my in-laws, one of the passengers was still in the vehicle when the policeman shot my husband. The eyewitness told them everything that happened, and they became angry. They took the body to the gate of the Government House.
They had to. At first, the policemen there asked them how they were so sure that it was an officer attached to the state security outfit, Operation Doo Akpo, who shot him, as many people were patrolling Azikoro Road where my husband was killed. My husband’s family told them an eyewitness had given them the van number.
“According to the eyewitness, after shooting my husband, the policeman got out, looked at him, then got back into their vehicle and drove off. As they were driving, the eyewitness quickly wrote down the van number. So, my husband’s family gave the van number to the officers at the gate, and they made a call.”
Proofreading, editing by Uji A. ILIYASU, Editor at Neptune Prime
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