Mr. Felix Asadu, brother to the Kwara State Commissioner of Police (CP), Chinweike Asadu who was murdered near his home in Enugu last Saturday night has said those who killed the police boss were assassins. The brother, who spoke to Daily Sun yesterday afternoon at the home of the slain commissioner at Amorji Nike in the Enugu East Local Government Area near the state capital, said he was shot dead by gunmen between 8 and 9pm.

“That’s what we can say we don’t know any other thing until police finish investigations we will be able to know what happened.” He said the late CP was actually on his way to Port Harcourt before he met his death. “He was on transit, he had a function in Port Harcourt. He was on transit to pick his wife because they were to travel together when he met his death.

“He was with escort but not the full loaded escort; he was just within the nighbourhood. The escort was shot down before they shot him dead and after shooting him they confirmed that he was dead before they left so it couldn’t have been ordinary gunmen. Common sense tells us they were assassins.” He described his late brother as a father, a brother and a friend, saying, “he is everything you can think about that is good and positive.” Traditional ruler of the Amorji Nike Autonomous Community, Igwe Titus Okolo, the Eze-Oha 1 of Amorji told Daily Sun that the incident came as a shock.

He said: “We heard an unusual sound of gunshot that night but couldn’t figure out what was happening. it was this morning we started hearing that a man was shot dead last night, it was very shocking and sad news because such incident is rare in this area.” The traditional ruler, who said he didn’t know such an important person was living in his area, said he went to the nearest police to see the DPO but met another senior officer who assured they were already investigating. In a press statement issued to newsmen in Enugu yesterday the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ebere Amraizu said the Enugu command of the Nigeria Police Force had commenced full-scale investigations into the killing of the commissioner.

The police statement said: “the CP Chinweike Asadu in charge of Kwara State Police Command of the Nigeria Police was allegedly killed by yet to be identified gunmen on Saturday, March 2 at about 2145hrs as he was about to enter into his Enugu residence at Abakpa in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State. “It was further gathered that he was rushed to Orthopaedic Hospital for assistance and there, he was confirmed dead by the doctors.” Meanwhile, shock and condemnations have since trailed the death of the murdered CP.

The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed in a statement by his spokesperson, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, described as shocking and unfortunate the death of the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, Mr. Chinwike Asadu, who was killed at his Enugu State home last Saturday night by unknown assailants. The governor said: “The death of Mr. Asadu was a huge loss not only to the Nigeria Police but Kwara State security apparatus in particular as he exhibited high sense of discipline and professionalism in the course of his duty in Kwara State. “Asadu, in the discharge of his duty in Kwara State contributed immensely to the sustenance of peace and in the upholding of our values as a state of harmony.”

Ahmed further noted that it was particularly painful that Asadu had become another index in the annals of the growing national insecurity, adding that it had become very expedient for us as a nation to rally round in finding enduring solution to the national malaise of insecurity. Similarly, the Kwara State governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) in the 2011 election, Mohammed Belgore in his condolence message signed by his Media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye said: “We condole with the police authorities and family and friends of Asadu, who was until his death yesterday night in Enugu, his home state, the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State.

“We condemn the killing in the strongest terms possible and call for immediate manhunt and, on apprehension, trial of the culprits to enable the state to get at the roots of this senseless murder.” The ACN stalwart added that, “Mr Asadu’s assassination again pointed out the spate of insecurity and declining respect for human lives across the country, which, alongside corruption and poverty, are great challenges confronting the governments at all level. “We urge the government to attack these menaces frontally using different approaches that not just deploy the force of arms but address their socio-economic and political roots.

To Ojokolo, a retired military man said: “If a senior security officer should be killed like a fowl it means we are in trouble in this country.” While a veteran journalist, Clement Obafaye described the late 27th commissioner of police in Kwara State as unfortunate incident, he said government must be up and doing to ensure security of lives and property of the people. He wondered why a man who could not hurt a fly should be killed two months to his retirement. The deputy commissioner of police, Kwara State said he could not speak to newsmen because according to him, “you can see ’am mourning the death of the CP, After we have finished necessary protocol I will speak with you.”

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