Eleven Policemen Dismissed Over Death Of UNICAL Student

Eleven policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the
Cross River State Police Command have been dismissed from service
after an orderly room trial found them guilty of extra judicial
killing.

The 11 dismissed policemen and three senior officers (names withheld)
were indicted for the extra judicial killing of a 300-level student in
the Department of Accounting, University of Calabar, Derek
Maurice-Enang, and five others.

PUNCH Metro gathered on Sunday that the three senior officers will
wait for their own disciplinary actions to be handed down by the
Police Headquarters in Abuja.

The slain student and five others were killed on April 17, 2014 in an
alleged gun duel with the police at Akpabuyo Local Government Area of
the state. Their cadaver was sold to the Anatomy Department of the
University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for N11, 000 each.

But a top police source at the Zone Six Police Command, who disclosed
the news of their dismissal, said after the trial there was no
evidence linking those killed to allegations of robbery.

He said, "The judgment has been handed down on them. Throughout the
trial, there was no evidence linking the people that were killed to
allegations of robbery by the detained policemen against the deceased.
It was clear that the accused policemen are not innocent of the
accusations. They are all still in detention awaiting their
arraignment in Court."

A committee set up by the outgoing Assistant Inspector General of
Police in charge of Zone Six, Calabar, Mr. Musa Daura, had indicted
the policemen over their involvement in the death of Derek and others.

It was gathered that Daura had on Saturday finally signed their
dismissal from the force.

When contacted, the Zone Six Public Relation Officer, Mr. Ibrahim
Tasiu, said he had yet to get the details of the dismissal because he
had not been in the office in the last two weeks due to ill health.

Also, the Police Public Relations Officer in charge of the Cross River
State command, Mr. Hogan Bassey, declined comment on the matter,
saying the matter had gone beyond the command.

However, speaking on the development, Derek's mother, Mrs. Enoh
Maurice-Enang, expressed appreciation to the Zone Six Police Command
and the Cross River Ministry of Justice for following up the matter.

She was particularly thankful to the outgoing AIG Zone Six, Daura, and
the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kola Sodipo for their
cooperation and efforts so far, urging them to ensure that the
dismissed corps were prosecuted in court.