PDP demands investigation of police role in Ntekim-Rex’s death

Laraba Raphael

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called for an investigation into the role of the Nigeria Police Force(NPF), in the death of a 22-year-old Computer Systems Engineer, David Ntekim-Rex.

The engineer was killed by suspected armed robbers who gunned him down on Friday in Jibowu Area of Lagos State.

Sources said the police failed to render any help to save the life of the young man after he was shot.

In a statement issued yesterday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP condemned the reported refusal of police operatives to save the young man’s life. The party said the operatives reportedly “engaged in photo ops, as the promising young Nigerian continued to bleed.”

The party also expressed worry over the alleged refusal by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Military Hospital to attend to the victim before his death.

The statement partly read, “It is horrendous that while the victim gasped for breath, the police, who ought to have provided help and take action to track down the assailants, reportedly took pictures of the dying youth and showed more interest in his laptop.

“Our party holds that this action of the said police operative makes them culpable for failing in their statutory duties of saving lives, which also amounts to a very grievous offence under our laws and before humanity.

In the same vein, the PDP expresses worry over the alleged refusal by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the Military Hospital attend to the victim, leading to his eventual death.

The PDP asserts that the reported actions of the police and the hospitals are in clear violation of the “Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017”, which establishes the right of every person with gunshot wounds to be treated and also provides, as a duty, for security agents and agencies to assist such victims.