Police apprehend suspects over alleged murder of tricyclist in Delta

The Delta State Police Command said it has arrested some suspects in connection with the  alleged murder of a commercial tricycle operator at Otokutu community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Hafiz Inuwa, who disclosed this to newsmen in Warri on Sunday, added that the police was on the trail of the real culprit.
Inuwa said: “We have arrested some persons in connection with the crime.
“We are looking for the real culprit.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Foundation for Rights Advocate, an NGO,  had earlier on Sunday exonerated the police of being responsible for the killing as insinuated in some online media reports.
The National President of FRA, Tega Shalokpe, exonerated the police at a press conference at the Secretariat of the Warri Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on the development.
It will be recalled that a middle-aged tricycle operator, simply identified as Okomedo, was alleged by an online media to have been killed by a policeman on April 8 at Otokutu, Ughelli South LGA of the state.
The human rights activist alleged that the deceased was killed by a local vigilante based on its findings.
Shalokpe said: “My group went to the Otu-Jeremi Police Station, we met the Divisional Police Officer and the Investigating Police Officer and others.
“I traced some of the passengers the deceased was carrying and one of them, a woman, narrated what transpired.
“The woman said the tricycle operator had a disagreement with the vigilante at the Otokutu community gate over the N50 gate pass.
“They always pay N50 before they can be allowed to carry passengers into the community.
“When the deceased was going into the town, he allegedly gave the vigilante N50.
“On his way back, they also demanded N50 from him.
“That led to the argument.
“When the argument was getting too much, the deceased ran out of the tricycle and the vigilante went after him close to one filling station where he used plank on him and the man died almost immediately.”
Shalokpe called on the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, to investigate and prosecute the online publisher for circulating fake information to the public.
She said: “We do not support fake news.
“Get your facts before publication.
“Enough of misleading information in the society.”