Court slams police inspector over questionable investigation of murder case

Justice Bassey Nkanang of Akwa Ibom State High Court, Uyo Judicial Division says, “Nigeria is where it is today because of characters like Inspector Samuel Udoh of the Homicide Section of the Criminal Investigation Department of Akwa Ibom State Police Command Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, who manipulate processes to suit his questionable purposes.”

Justice Bassey Nkanang stated this in a judgement he delivered in the case of the murder of one Ikenna Emeka at Okoita, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area in which Inspector Samuel Udoh testified as fifth Defence Witness, D.W 5 who investigated the incident on 28th April 2017.

The judge said the sixth Defence Witness, DW 6, Sergeant Okon Atte of Ibiono Ibom Police Divisional Headquarters who first investigated the incident, stated: “Categorically in his testimony that he picked up the body of late Ikenna Emeka on the road, close to the compound of the first convict, Mrs Idongesit Emmanuel Udo in Oko lta.”

He said that Inspector Samuel Udo “To remove the pick-up point of the corpse from the scene of the crime, wrote in his report that Sergeant Okon Atte picked up the body in the house of the complainant, Nelson Akan Edet in Ekput, a village said to be three villages away from the scene of the crime.”

The court described it as a classic case of what Nigerians refer to as complainant turned accused.”

Justice Nkanang said, “Inspector Samuel Udoh turned around to recommend that the complainant was a perpetual fraudster and a criminal and that the late Emeka Ikenna, whose hometown address is not known, was a criminal, killed by a mob action.”

According to the court, “The report was completely different from the extrajudicial statement of the convicts who had confessed that the complainant and the late Emeka Ikenna were taken to the house of Mrs Idongesit Emmanuel Udo, the first convict where they were beaten with sticks, cable and machete and their legs tied in a bid to have them refund her money.”

Justice Nkanang also said that all “the extracts and positions projected by Inspector Samuel Udoh were completely at variance with the facts of the case, some of which have been asserted even by the defence witnesses, including the defendants themselves.”

The court said it was “Yet to ascertain the purpose Inspector Samuel Udoh was set to achieve despite having been assigned to investigate the case with taxpayers’ money.”

He said “The attitude of the IPO must have triggered the petition against him by a law firm of Samuel Ikpo and company who alleged pervasion of justice which also led to the taking over of the matter by the Zone 6 Headquarters of the Nigeria Police.

The court held that Inspector Samuel Udoh “manipulated processes to suit his questionable purposes without the fear of God” and described him as “a negatively smart officer and an embarrassment to the Nigeria Police Force.”