Man shot dead while controlling traffic in Rivers State

Chukwuka Monye was shot and killed on Saturday night at Rumuokoro Junction in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State by unidentified gunmen wearing police uniforms.

When the event occurred at around 6 o’clock in the evening, the deceased, a volunteer traffic warden, was reportedly in charge of traffic in Rumuokoro, a Port Harcourt suburb.

He was reportedly helping to clear the traffic jam brought on by a rainfall when one of the shooters in a police car opened fire on the scene.

The deceased allegedly had a problem with several security staff, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous for security concerns, but was unable to identify the individuals.

“What I heard was that Chukwuka was arguing with some security people, but I don’t know if they are policemen or not.

 “He is a very quiet person and very intelligent. He is a First Class graduate, 43 years old now. It is very unfortunate what happened to him,” he stated.

It was discovered that police officers later removed the body from the location and placed it in a morgue in Port Harcourt.

The deceased’s father, retired warrant officer John Monye, said over the phone that he was at home when someone called to alert him of the situation using his late son’s phone number.

To find out who was responsible for his son’s death, he demanded a thorough inquiry.

He said, “I was in the house when somebody who said he is my son’s friend used his (Chukwuka) number to call me.

 “That caller said Chukwuka’s corpse was lying on the ground, that they shot him.

“He said the police shot him, according to what they told him.”

Asked if his son was a cultist or had a problem with anyone, he said, “My son is a quiet boy. He doesn’t make trouble with anybody. Throughout his schooling days, he never had a problem with anybody.

 “He is married with three children, a daughter and two sons. My son cannot die like that.

“I want the government to investigate this matter and find out what happened that led to him being shot.”

When asked about the event, Grace Iringe-Koko, a spokesperson for the state police command, verified it and claimed that gunmen wearing police uniforms were responsible.

While noting that the investigation was ongoing, she said, “It happened around 6pm on April 1. The man was controlling traffic. I think he has issues with those people because they are not police officers, but gunmen wearing police uniforms were the ones that shot him.

“Immediately it happened, the Divisional Police Officer swung into action and his corpse was taken to a morgue.”