The Abia State Command of the Nigerian Police Force has refuted any connection to the death of a civilian, specifically an unidentified truck driver, in Aba on Wednesday.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police Maureen Chinaka, addressed the shooting incident and the subsequent death of the civilian near the Flyover in the Alaoji area of Aba.
She emphasized that preliminary investigations conducted by the force revealed no credible evidence indicating that police officers mistakenly engaged in gunfire with one another, believing they were confronting members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“What we can confirm is that there was a shooting in that area, which resulted in the death of a civilian. The identity of those responsible for the shooting and their motives are still under investigation.
“However, we encourage anyone with useful information regarding the incident to report at the nearest police station,” the police spokesperson noted.
Reports earlier indicate that the shooting incident involved police patrol teams from the Aba Area Command and another unit from Umuahia.
It was gathered that the officers, operating from commercial buses, failed to recognize one another prior to discharging their weapons.
During the exchange of gunfire, shopkeepers near the Alaoji motor spare parts market and pedestrians along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway reportedly sought refuge to evade the gunfire.
Unfortunately, a truck driver was fatally shot during this occurrence.
It has been claimed that a dispute arose once the officers realized they were all part of the police force, leading to a blame game as they declined to accept responsibility for the driver’s death.
