Some human rights groups including the Civil Liberties Organisation, Bayelsa State chapter, have promised to offer legal support to the Daniel Kokorifa family over the alleged killing of their 17-year-old son, Innocent.
Innocent,
first out of five children of Mr. Daniel Kokorifa, an official of the Federal
Road Safety Corps, was shot dead in a mysterious circumstance by the police
Anti-Vice/Anti-Kidnapping team, along Airforce Road, in Yenagoa, on August 18,
2016.
The victim
was said to be running an errand for his mother, Pere, when he was allegedly
killed by the police about 11am on the fateful day.
But the
state police command had in a statement last week claimed that the victim died
in a gun battle between a three-man notorious armed robbery gang and the police
team.
Speaking on
the legal support, a former Secretary, Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr. Alagoa
Morris, said the organisation would support the family in ensuring that justice
was served in the case.
Morris,
however, said, “For now, we do not know the direction the family wants to go.
But during our visit last Sunday, we told them that the CLO was ready to
support them if there is need to take a legal action.
“We are
waiting for them. We cannot cry more than the bereaved. So, if they are ready
and the police authorities are not going the way they should go, we are ready
to step in and support them legally to pursue the matter for justice.”
Also, the
Coordinator, Operation Rescue, Princess Elizabeth Egbe, condemned the
extrajudicial killing of the teenager.
Egbe said
the group would collaborate with other human rights organisations to ensure
that the matter was not swept under the carpet.
She called
on the relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to
book.
“The killing is condemned. We are going to send
petitions to the relevant authorities. Extrajudicial killing should be
discouraged by all means and at all costs, “ the rights activist stated
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