The saying that death has no antidote held true for him as he succumbed to it in the hands of Sgt. Lucky Osemwenkhae, a riot policeman attached to the Mobile Police Squadron 21, Abuja.
Emmanuel, an assistant inspector with the FCT Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, had lived in the same house with Osemwenkhae in Kabayi Village, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, for about three years. They were known to engage in occasional arguments and brawls.
Matters came to a head on the fateful day when the two neighbours engaged in an altercation, which led to the demise of Emmanuel. An eyewitness, who does not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the case, said that the NSCDC officer had met the policeman in a shop around their neighbourhood and had engaged him in a verbal war.
"Osemwenkhae met Emmanuel at a shop and called him aside to remind him about their unsettled quarrels. The two started arguing again and suddenly, the policeman brought a knife and stabbed him. He then fled the scene.
"Emmanuel ran home to his wife and she took him to a nearby chemist shop, but he could not handle the injury. They went to Nyanya General Hospital, which referred him to Asokoro District Hospital," the eyewitness explained.
According to him, by the time Emmanuel got to Asokoro, he had lost a lot of blood, which probably led to his death.
A brother to the deceased, Henry, said that Osemwenkhae stabbed his brother over an old feud when they met at a shop, adding that the two had always had occasional disagreement.
He stated that Emmanuel had packed out of the house he shared with his alleged killer and was around his former neighbourhood to buy something when he ran into Osemwenkhae. The policeman allegedly reminded him that they had an unsettled quarrel that they needed to iron out.
Henry said, "The MOPOL man went home to keep his two children that were with him; he came back with a dagger and threatened to kill my brother if he uttered any word. My brother dared him to kill him and he stabbed him in the stomach. He was rushed to the hospital and it was there I met him and he explained what happened. He died as they were treating him; the dagger had cut his intestines.
The policeman ran away and took his family out of his room. He then went to Mararaba Police Station to surrender himself. He is still being detained there."
Henry alleged that his wife and three-month-old baby were detained by the police following the burning of Osemwenkhae's property by a friend of the deceased, who was irked by the policeman's action.
"One of my brother's friends went to Osemwenkhae's room, brought out his property and set them on fire. Policemen from Mararaba later arrested my wife and three-month-old baby, as well as my younger brother for the offence. They said they would handle the burning of the policeman's property first before investigating the murder of my brother.
"They said I should bring N10,000 to bail my wife and baby, but I said I could only give them N7,000. They released my wife and baby, but they have not released my brother. The IPO said the DPO must sign a form before they could release him. I was still there today (Wednesday), but they didn't release him," Henry said.
The Mararaba Divisional Police Officer, Haruna Aliyu, confirmed that the murder suspect was in custody, adding that investigation was still on and a report would be sent to the Force Headquarters for advice.
On the allegation by Henry that his brother was detained in place of the person that broke into Osemwenkhae room, the DPO explained that the detained person had a hand in the act.
"Henry is not telling you the whole truth; his brother took part in the destruction of Osemwenkhae's room and property. Granted that a life was lost, is it right for them to attack the suspect's compound and burn down his personal effects? They even burned his uniform. The suspect could have escaped after the act, but he voluntarily turned himself in," Aliyu explained.
The Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, NSCDC, David Akinbinu, told crime digest that Emmanuel called his boss in the office and narrated the incident to him moments before he gave up the ghost.
He explained that the command had dispatched a report on the incident to the NSCDC national headquarters, adding that the corps would be waiting for the outcome of police investigation and the subsequent arraignment of the suspect.
Akinbinu said, "We've visited the family and have sent a report to our headquarters. The suspect is being held at Mararaba Police Station, so we will be following police investigation into the case."
On Osemwenkhae's fate, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Yemi Ajayi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said the suspect would be summarily dismissed from the police after which the case would be transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department for prosecution.
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