The Nigeria Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, has clarified the misconception that the case of Uduak Akpan, a suspected killer of Iniubong Umoren, a job seeking graduate in Akwa Ibom State has been transferred to the Department of State Service, DSS.
In a media chat, in Uyo, the State capital, the command’s Public Relations Officer Odiko Macdon said Akpan’s case file was at the Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP, and the suspect remanded in the State Correctional centre.
He said it would be a sheer folly for the police to hands-off the case after going through the hurdles of arresting the suspect under 24hours of allegedly committing the crime, exhuming the victim’s corpse and subjecting the same for autopsy.
He added that the command had enough evidence to prosecute Uduak Akpan and wondered why some people would assume that police had backed out of the case.
He further said that it was only the police that were empowered by law to handle such cases, questioning why they would abdicate their responsibility.
“What we have now is enough to prosecute and secure conviction, only the police are empowered by law to handle such cases. So why should we transfer the case to DSS?” He queried.
“The main thing is that we apprehended the suspect. He was remanded in prison alongside other suspects. We have transferred the case file to DPP and we are waiting for advice,” he added.
On the case of a General Overseer of a church, Ukachukwu Christopher, who allegedly beat his wife to death and buried her in a shallow grave and a soldier who allegedly killed a driver that gave him a lift from Rivers to Akwa Ibom States, Macdon said the suspects were all remanded in prison custody and would be arraigned in court soon.
The PPRO said, “I read that we have handed over the case to DSS, no! The Police cannot handover a case file to DSS for prosecution, it is not possible. Police is the lead agency in internal security.
“Autopsy on the corpse of Iniubong Umoren has been conducted, the result is out, we now have what it takes to nail Frank. It was very painful for people to say the police didn’t do a nice job.
“There are some cases that when it happens, they must still be sent down to the police for prosecution. It is only the police that can enforce any law in this country. Some specialized agencies cannot enforce any law that does not fall within their purview.
“We worked with the DPP to get those people remanded in the Nigeria Correctional Service even before the court resumed. They will be arraigned, we have sent the case files of Uduak Frank, the Soldier who murdered one Enobong Jimmy, and the Church Founder, Ukachukwu Christopher who beat his wife to death to DPP, and we are waiting for them.
“Let me assure you that the Command will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all those cases are prosecuted logically because we have carried out the autopsies and have the result. We have the suspects in custody, we have the legal teams ready, and we have a robust relationship with the justice department because we are all ministers in the temple of justice.”
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