Moses Adam, 25-year-old man from Benin City, Edo State, died after being wounded by a stray bullet fired by a police officer.
The tragic incident occurred on September 17, when the deceased, who is claimed to be his parents’ only son, came in Benin from Lagos to attend his sister’s wedding on Saturday.
In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, SP Kontongs Bello, claimed Adam was riding in a bus when he was struck by a stray bullet fired by an officer attempting to apprehend a m*rder suspect, Ebuka Nwaechie.
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“He was rushed to the Edo Specialist Hospital where he gave up the ghost. The erring officer has been arrested and will go through administrative trial that will determine his culpability,” he said.
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Police said Nwaechie was allegedly involved in the alleged m*rder of one Bright Orikose on December 24, 2020. However, Esther, one of Adam’s elder sisters, disagreed with the account. She lamented the attempt by the police to twist the narrative.
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“My brother was not k*lled by a stray bullet as the police claimed. He was aimed at in the second car which Ebuka was not even inside. While treating my brother, the doctor told us that he was hit by a close range bullet and that he lost so much blood before his d*ath,” she said.
According to a report by Foundation For Investigative Journalism (FIJ), the deceased was driving with his friend, Kelvin Uwumunse, when “some police detectives on mufti violently waylaid their cars”
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The report said Adam and his friends were unsure of the identity of the people contending the road with them, so they tried to make a detour, but g*nshots were fired at them, one of the sh*ts hit Adam in his thigh.
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It was gathered that the police afterwards arrested and detained three of Adam’s friends. They also reportedly failed to document the sh*oting at the station.
“It was after we got to the hospital that the police believed and gave us N120,000 for the treatment,” the family lawyer told FIJ.