- When the family visited the police the next day, they found him in good health, but their efforts to secure his release failed
The children of Mr. Levi Opara has called for the swift arraignment of the officers at the Tiger Base in Imo State Police Command for being allegedly responsible for the death of the deceased.
According to Punch, Ihuoma Opara, the complainant and daughter of the deceased, explained that her 46-year-old father, from Ezedibia, Emekuku in Owerri-North LGA, had a minor dispute with their mother, Mrs. Chioma Opara. This led to a police informant getting involved and the police arresting Mr. Opara on October 15, 2023.
When the family visited the police the next day, they found him in good health, but their efforts to secure his release failed. They were told to return on October 18, 2023.
In her words, “When we came back on Wednesday, we were shocked when the IPO and team leader notified us that my father who was never sick or suffering from any form of illness the day he was arrested was dead. On further inquiries, both the IPO and team leader informed us that he was at the police clinic but later changed and said his body had already been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri.
“On arrival at the said Federal Medical Centre, we saw the lifeless body of our father, and on a closer observation, discovered that my father’s body had several bruises as well as knife cuts on his neck which were hurriedly stitched either before or after his death.
“As against the wish of the police, the family fought by writing a petition to the Inspector General of Police demanding that an autopsy of the body be done with our consent and in the presence of our medical personnel. The scheduled autopsy which was to be carried out on Thursday, October 19, 2023, around 10 am was thwarted as the police refused to show up on the agreed day.”
She further stated that the IG approved their petition and ordered the immediate arrest of all those involved in the murder as the matter was ultimately transferred to Zone 9 Umuahia.
Furthermore, Ihuoma told PUNCH Metro that “the autopsy and toxicology on the body of the late Levi Opara were eventually carried out and the report produced, which showed that our father was starved, tortured and murdered.”
“We sent the report to Assistant Inspector General of Police, Umuahia upon which the family requested the release of the mortuary tally to enable us to bury the deceased which was granted after much consideration and he was buried on December 15, 2023.
“After the burial, the family requested that the file be transferred to the office of the Director of Public Persecutions, Owerri, Imo state for immediate arraignment of all those involved in his death.The DPP made recommendations after a comprehensive evaluation of the police file sent to the Ministry of Justice by the Assistant Inspection of Police and recommended the arraignment of all those involved in the murder of my father. But until now, they are still delaying the arraignment of the police officers and those involved in the said murder.”
Ihuoma also appealed to the Federal Government, IG and Governor Hope Uzodimma to intervene in the matter to ensure that all those involved in the death of their father were brought to book.
“We want the law to take its full course on the matter by arraigning all those involved in the case. The death of our father has left us devastated and we want the government to ensure that the police do not frustrate the arraignment of all those involved.”
“My family is in total disarray and shocked at the wicked and gruesome manner in which my father was killed. And since the perpetrators have been identified, arrested, autopsy and toxicology conducted with the report submitted to all parties involved, which signified the conclusion of the investigation, I’m wondering why the police have continued to delay the immediate arraignment of those involved”, she added.
The Police Public Relations Officer of Imo State Command, ASP Henry Okoye has not responded to calls over the issue as at press time.