Delta State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, has ordered an investigation into the alleged theft of a vehicle in a church and its subsequent conversion into a patrol vehicle by a division of the command.
An X user, @ChuksEric, had posted a video of one Ogoro Matthew, who resides in Warri, pleading for assistance to recover his vehicle, which was stolen in 2015 and has since then, been in the possession of the police.
Ogoro, in the video, narrated that “I went to a church programme on November 13, 2015. I later came outside, but couldn’t find my car. I searched everywhere but to no avail, so I went to Ekpan Police Station to report the incidence. They told me to process papers indicating a case of stolen vehicle. I printed the papers, gave it to them and even distributed them all over the place.”
“After two years, I discovered the vehicle with the police at Ekpan division. They converted my vehicle to their own use. Someone advised me to take the matter to court. On July 19, 2018, the High Court fined them N10 million. While I was waiting for them to pay me, they appealed against the judgment.”
Wondering if the police were trying to claim ownership of his vehicle, the victim accused the police of oppressing him, adding that since it was the vehicle he was using to fend for himself, the theft has made feeding and paying for his house rent difficult.
Responding to the allegation, the spokesperson of the command, Bright Edafe in a statement on X, said the police commissioner has ordered an investigation into the matter. “It happened a long time ago and almost all key actors in the matter have retired. However, injustice is injustice and that’s what the CP does not tolerate. It doesn’t matter how long it happened, the man has a valid case and it will be looked into as directed by the CP.”
