Father demands release of son’s corpse from army custody
The father of a man allegedly killed last year by a soldier attached to Command Secondary School, Kaduna has demanded the release of the corpse of his son. Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Kaduna, Andy Ita Ukpe also demanded for the payment of N700 million as compensation from the Nigerian Army to enable him take […]
The father of a man allegedly killed last year by a soldier attached to Command Secondary School, Kaduna has demanded the release of the corpse of his son. Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Kaduna, Andy Ita Ukpe also demanded for the payment of N700 million as compensation from the Nigerian Army to enable him take care of the two children left behind by his late son.
The deceased, Solomon Ukpe, 29, was allegedly shot dead by a soldier identified as Ocheme Abel while packing sand in front of the school for block making in June 2017. The father said his son’s corpse is yet to be released for a befitting burial 10 months after the unfortunate incident.
“Solomon, a carpenter and labourer went to pack sand in front of Command Secondary School for block making when the soldier attached to the school challenged him to stop packing the sound which he did.
“He tried to explain himself and the soldier pretended to have agreed with him and gave him money to go and by cigarette. But as he turned around to go and get the cigarette, Ocheme shot him from the back killing him instantly. This is the same soldier that is alleged to have been terrorising the women who were farming in the area”, Ukpe also claimed.
He added that, “Policemen went to the scene and picked the corpse which they deposited at Gwamna Awan hospital. But to our surprise, the army went and collected the body of my son from the mortuary without notifying me.
“They did that under a false personality because when they came and took the body, the paper that enabled them to take the body away read civilian identity. But when I called the contact line that was on the paper, the respondent said he was a goat seller at Tudun Wada,” he said.
He said after he contacted the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), he was allowed to see the corpse of his son which had been mutilated.
When contacted, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Colonel Muhammad Dole, said, “The matter is already with our legal department and I cannot make any comment on it.”