By Comrade Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen
The tragic incident that claimed the life of the late Liberty Kunu and members of his civilian security team is not an isolated occurrence in Delta State.
On December 15, 2022, a six-man team of civilian hunters operating under the supervision of the Delta State Police Command was arrested along the Ovwian–Uvwie–Ughelli axis.
They were accused of being armed robbers and kidnappers and subsequently paraded by the Police Command led by then Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Ari Ali, now an Assistant Inspector General (AIG).
Fortunately, none of those arrested were extrajudicially killed. Instead, they were detained at the Sapele and Okere Correctional Centres in Warri after spending over three months at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
In total, they endured nearly a year in detention. Their release was made possible through my relentless efforts and the detailed investigative report submitted by the then AIG, Zone 5, late AIG Lawan Tanko Jimeta, which ultimately cleared them of all allegations.
The ordeal began when the group arrested a suspect, one Alhaji, believed to be a drug supplier to a notorious kidnapping syndicate later dismantled by ACP Shaba Aliyu. Upon his arrest, Alhaji insisted that he should be taken to the Ekpan Police Station, claiming that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) there was his “boss.” Hearing this, the civilian group decided to avoid the Ekpan Division and instead handed him over at the Ovwian Police Station under the Burutu Area Command, where he was promptly detained.
However, the suspect was later granted bail—a development that infuriated the Ekpan DPO. Feeling undermined after hearing Alhaji’s account, which mentioned his name, the DPO reportedly directed that the civilian hunter group be arrested if found anywhere within Ekpan’s jurisdiction.
Regrettably, the group was later apprehended while conducting a manhunt for the kidnapping gang Alhaji allegedly supplied drugs to in Effurun.
They were accused of being armed robbers and kidnappers. The pump-action rifles they used in Ovwian operations were seized and presented as incriminating evidence against them.
Shockingly, the same suspect, Alhaji—the alleged drug dealer—was called to testify against them, claiming they had kidnapped him and collected ransom money, which was, in truth, the bail he had paid through police arrangements.
Of the six-man team, four were indigenes of Delta State from the Urhobo ethnic nationality, while the remaining two were of Igbo and Yoruba descent.
Indeed, injustice recognizes no tribe. The then AIG, Lawan Tanko Jimeta, reopened the investigation after a petition was filed at Zone 5. During interrogation, Alhaji confessed to the truth, admitting he was never kidnapped but arrested with hard drugs and was coerced into giving a false statement.
The recent killing of Liberty Kunu underscores a deeply troubling pattern—a system where some law enforcement officers act with impunity, shielded from accountability, while ordinary citizens suffer in silence.
Who then can the common man rely on for justice?
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