Family of detainee who died in Rivers police station demands corpse

The family of a man identified as Phillip Brown popularly called ‘Schoolboy’ who died in the cell of the Eagle Crack unit of the Rivers State Police Command is demanding that his remains be released to them for burial.

Chairman of the Dioubu Vigilante, Amatari Bipelede, told journalists that Schoolboy was rescued half-dead from a mob at a waterfront in Port Harcourt after he was caught with an AK-47 rifle and handed over to the police.

Meanwhile, a relative of the deceased, Daniel Malfred, has called on the Police to thoroughly investigate the death of his brother and demanded his remains for burial.

Malfred expressed disappointment that the police were hiding the truth from him after he visited three stations to ascertain the news he heard about his brother’s demise.

“I heard that he died in the police station. So I went to mile one police station, they said such an incident never happened. I also went to s in mile one, they also said that incident did not occur.

“I went to Azikiwe police station to get information so that we can get his body for the family to bury him. They also said such an incident never happened. So all the police stations we went to said they were not aware of the incident.

“But the information we gathered was that police were involved. That the Dioubu vigilante handed him over to E-Crack. I want the police commissioner to investigate this matter and let them release his body so that we can bury him,” he stated.

Reacting to claims by some youths in the area who said they witnessed what happened and that Schoolboy was beaten by policemen while in detention at the E-Crack unit, the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, said it is not true that Phillip Brown (Schoolboy) was tortured by his men.

“That is a misconception of the actual fact. The suspect was involved in criminal activity at the waterfront. The vigilante got information and informed the police. They send their men under cover and were able to grab one of the cultists that were making life unbearable for the people there.

“There was mob action. He was beaten to stupor. Some of the vigilantes were injured. There was reinforcement and they took him to the E-Crack station. Unfortunately, when he got there he was exhausted through the mob action and he gave up the ghost,” CP Mukan explained.