My Brother Was Shot While Delivering Voluntary Service As Traffic Controller – Petitioner
A petitioner has told the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that his brother was shot by police as he was delivering voluntary service as a traffic controller.
The petitioner who was cross-examined alleged that his brother was murdered and said he wants justice.
Evangelist Simon Daniel said under cross-examination although he was not at the scene of the shooting, there was an eyewitness who was at scene of the shooting.
The petitioner said that operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had shot his brother, John Amaha, because they felt he was wasting their time not giving them go-ahead.
The witness who testified said a SARS operative came down from a Hilux van and then shot him.
Speaking with reporters, the petitioner said his brother was shot around Evo axis in Government Reservation Area in Port-Harcourt, saying there was an argument before he was shot.
He said he was shot twice on March 4, 2019 and died following day.
He said that he always volunteered to control the traffic saying he got a distress call about the shooting and had travelled to scene of the incident. He also said he deposited his body at the mortuary.
Asked why he was shot, the petitioner said that the SARS operatives claimed he was one causing the traffic jam and refused to let them move.
Evangelist Daniel said: “In course of arguing with them, one of them angrily jumped down from the Hilux bus and shot him twice, that he was wasting their time”.
He also said one of the operatives had called him a “bloody civilian”.
The petitioner said he was rendering the voluntary service because he needed someone to assist him.
He said that he came to the commission because he wants justice.
The petitioner also said that he wants close to fifty million naira for compensation to the family.
He said that his mother suffered trauma as result of the incident saying that she became hypertensive when she heard the news of his death.
The petitioner said: “I am asking this commission to deliver justice to my family and we are also seeking compensation. As a result of this incident, my mother has been in a very bad state for the past two years”.
He said his brother was well-known in Government Reservation Area.
At the commission, the petitioner adopted the memorandum he sent to the Commission of Inquiry.
The matter was fixed for conference by the commission Chairman, Honourable Justice C. I. Uriri (retd).
