Policemen kill colleague, mistake him for kidnapper

Some policemen on guard in a private residence have killed a member of the Special Anti Robbery Squad in Alor in the Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.   Southern City News gathered on Friday that the incident occurred near the  home of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige. A police source, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent in Awka that the deceased, whose identity could not be confirmed as of press, was mistaken as a kidnapper by his colleagues.   He said, “He (the deceased) accompanied one of his colleagues to somebody’s residence for an arrest at about 4.30 am.   “They were putting  handcuffs on their suspect when somebody who did not know that they were SARS operatives alerted some  policemen on guard in a private residence in  the neighborhood that kidnappers were trying to abduct someone.   “As soon as the policemen arrived the scene and saw the SARS operatives, they opened fire at them and gunned down the deceased. It was minutes after that his colleagues identified him as  a SARS operative on special duty.”   The Officer-In-charge of SARS at Awkuzu, Sunday Okpe, confirmed the incident.   Okpe who spoke on the telephone said the deceased was one of his subordinates.   Mohammed did not also respond to a text message sent to him, but an insider in the police command, who begged not to be mentioned, told Southern City News that the offending policemen were facing orderly room trial.