FSARS commander refutes killing Gberegbe

Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Rivers State, ACP Akin Fakorede, has denied killing Dr. Ferry Gberegbe during the March 9 elections in the state.

He claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) collation officer died of gunshot wounds from a locally-made pistol, in addition to food poisoning.

Fakorede disclosed this in Port Harcourt yesterday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Police Affairs, Human Rights and Justice investigating the activities of the police and army during the March 9 polls.

Gberegbe was shot at a collation centre in Bori, Khana Council of Rivers.

The police chief, who was accused by primary witnesses of shooting Gberegbe, a lecturer at the Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, claimed that the video on social media showing how Gberegbe was killed was concocted even before the election.

He, however, pointed out that the family and state government had denied the police access to the remains of the victim.

“The police are investigating the incident. But the family of the man has refused to allow us conduct autopsy on the remains of the victim.

“Till now, the police homicide department has not seen the remains of the victim. We have visited the hospital and seen the doctor that handled the case.

“The victim must have been shot by his friends. He had a gunshot wound from a locally-made pistol, but died of food poisoning,” he claimed.

Chairman of the committee, Rimande Kwewum, noted that the essence of the exercise was to take legislative actions to correct ills that were observed during the last elections.

Kwewum assured that the team would not suppress the truth in its report, stressing the need to straighten issues in the state in national interest.

He said: “There are too many interests in what we are doing here, so there is need to straighten things out for the interest of this country.

“We will not suppress truth in the interest of justice. The essence is to take legislative actions to correct. We are using the process to repair our system to ensure it does not recur.”