The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has commenced investigation into the killing of a two-year-old boy, Ivan Omorhina, during a raid involving its officers at Okpanam area of Asaba, Delta State.
The toddler was hit by a stray bullet during the raid, then rushed to a hospital for treatment before giving up the ghost.
Mr. Fidelis Omorhina, the father of the toddler, who said his child was allegedly shot dead via a stray bullet fired by NDLEA operatives, said that wife’s shop is far from where the bullet was fired.
In a chat with activist, Marvin Mordi, the distraught father said his family routine is for him to pick his children from school and then drop them in his wife’s shop and in the evening when he is done with work, he returns and takes everyone to their home which is just five-minutes apart.
Fidelis said on the day of the incident, he had dropped off his two sons with their mum and had left when he received a distress call from his wife asking him to return immediately as something bad had happened.
He said he rushed out and was heading to his wife’s shop when he received another call from her asking him to meet them at the Federal Medical Center.
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‘’I went to their school to take them and decided to take them to the shop. That is how we normally do it. I will keep them there and whenever I am done with whatever I am doing in town or in the office, if I am going home I will pick them up.
“I dropped them there at about 4.30 to 5pm. Immediately I dropped them, they went upstairs to meet my wife and then I left. My house is just five minutes away from the shop. Immediately they just opened the gate to my house, my wife called me, Babe come back. It’s like she doesn’t even know where the bullet came from but it came from afar because there was no sign within”
He said he arrived at his wife’s shop and upon inquiry, he was told that some NDLEA officials had come to their area to raid a drug joint.
He said while he was listening to an account of what happened, he sighted the NDLEA truck and immediately approached them and informed them that the stray bullet they fired had hit his son.
The distraught father said he took the initiative to turn on his phone camera so he could record his interaction with them.
He claimed he was harrased by the anti-drug operatives who cocked their gun at him as they kicked against him filming them. He said the officers then entered their patrol van and immediately left the scene.
Omohrina said it was this point that he began to pursue them.
He dismissed claims made by the NDLEA officials that his son was killed via accidental discharge.
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The distraught father also mentioned that his second son who suffered an injury in his eyes during the incident, was wheeled into the theater at about 12pm on Thursday night 13 July and did not come out until 12am 14 July.
The Agency in a statement released by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Saturday, 15 July, said the Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) after receiving initial briefings from the Delta state command of NDLEA, has set up a panel of top officials from the national headquarters in Abuja to immediately proceed to Asaba for an on the spot investigation of the unfortunate incident with a view to establishing the actual facts of the case.
The statement went on to add an initial incident report that reads: “A team of NDLEA operatives carried out an intelligence-based raid of the joint of a notorious drug dealer located at Okpanam area of Asaba at about 1600 hours on Thursday 13th July and in the process of the operation, a Toyota Camry 2008 model, light blue colour at the scene suddenly zoomed off and knocked down one of our officers who is currently in critical condition, undergoing treatment in a hospital.
“In a bid demobilize the car and prevent it from escaping, another officer fired a shot aimed at the tyre of the car, which eventually escaped. While the injured Officer was rushed for treatment, the officers got reports of a stray bullet hitting a young person and immediately located the father of the victim, followed him to the hospital and supported in facilitating his treatment but unfortunately died in the process.
“We’re in touch with the family to provide necessary assistance while we conclude our investigation of the incident. We will like to assure the family and members of the public that we’ll get to the root of the case and take necessary action(s).”