Father of son missing in Benue police custody cries out for justice

A father, Edward Akaainjo, has cried out to the public in his quest to unravel the whereabouts of his son, Bemgba, who was arrested by the police more than four years ago.

Narrating his ordeal to The Guardian in Makurdi, Akaainjo said his son was called on his mobile phone by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that his younger brother was involved in an accident and had been taken to the General Hospital in Aliade.

According to him, Bemgba rushed to the hospital only to be confronted by the police officers who had already arrested his younger brother

“On sighting him, the police removed the cuffs from his younger brother and put them on him, gave him the beating of his life, and went away with him in their vehicle. That was the beginning of the ordeal for the family,” he said.

According to Akainjo, before the police took his son away, they promised to inform the family of where they would take him.

He said, however, from October 2019 till date, nothing has been heard of Bembga’s whereabouts, even though the family had taken time to go round all the police stations in the state.

The Akaainjo family said it had hoped that the setting up of a panel of enquiry to look into cases of police brutality and extra-judicial killings three years ago would bring respite.

This wasn’t the case, however. And although their complaint at the panel was received, nothing came out of it.

He called on the Federal Government and relevant authorities to wade into the matter.

According to him, no matter the gravity of the offense by his son, it was not fair of the police to have whisked him away and kept his family in suspense for years without letting them know if he was dead or alive.