By Adadareporters
The Anambra State Police Command, Monday, debunked a media report that a suspected armed robber was totured to death while undergoing interrogations by its operatives.
The command, in a release by its public relations officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the news published by Sahara Reporters was unfounded.
According to him, “It’s unprofessional for Sahara Reporters to make such a publication without cross-checking the facts with the police command despite having unfettered access to such clarification.
“The medium is establishing a pattern of deliberately falsifying narratives with a view to discrediting the command for reasons best known to it. It was in a similar fashion it deliberately misquoted a statement made by the commissioner of police during his maiden press briefing which it never attended in an attempt to whip up disaffection against the command.
“In this instance, the two robbery suspects were neither tortured nor handed to any vigilante group. On receiving the report of the arrest, the commissioner of police promptly ordered that they be taken to hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds sustained in the cause of arrest.
“Both suspects were taken to the hospital where one gave up overnight. Two days later, the other suspect outwitted his police guard in hospital and escaped. The police officer on that shift was arrested and detained. He is currently undergoing a disciplinary procedure that may result in dismissal.”
Ikenga enjoined members of the public ‘to discountenance the vile propaganda emanating from Sahara Reporters seeking to paint the command black’, and assured the residents of their protection.
