Crime News
Photos: Newly Married Bus Driver Killed By Police Over 100 Naira Bribe In Port Harcourt
August 13, 2015 – Pictures: Newly Married Bus Driver Killed By Police Over 100 Naira Bribe In Port Harcourt, Rivers State
A bus driver in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, David Legbara, 37, who recently got married, woke up very early on the morning of Friday, August 7, 2015, prayed with his eight-month pregnant wife and left for work.
The driver, until his death in the afternoon of the same August 7, was plying Mile Three-Rumuokoro route on the ever-busy Ikwerre Road in the city. Shortly after loading passengers from the popular Mile Three Park in Diobu, heading for Rumuokoro, he was stopped by policemen on stop-and-search duty at Wimpey Junction, Mile Four, Ikwerre Road around 12.20 p.m., but he was shot and killed by James Imhalu, a mobile policeman, popularly called MOPOL, whom he refused to give the demanded N100 bribe at the check point, without any provocation or altercation.
Imhalu, a police Sergeant, is attached to the Kala Divisional Police Headquarters at Rumueprikom, Port Harcourt, the hometown of the Rivers Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike. The late Legbara, an Ogoni man from Uegwere-Boue in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers state, was the only child of his parents and the bread winner of his family, with an aged mother and if he did not bring money home daily, there would be no food for the family to eat.
After shooting and killing Legbara, some of the passengers in the bus were also hit by the killer policeman’s bullets, sustaining varying degrees of injury, but still managed to jump out of the ill-fated bus and scampered to safety, to avoid being killed by the notorious policemen to cover the evidence.
When the sad news of the bus driver’s murder got to Mile Three Park in the afternoon of August 7, his colleagues moved to Wimpey Junction and briefly protested.
The aggrieved commercial drivers, their conductors and sympathisers strategised overnight, mobilised their members from the various parks in Port Harcourt and its environs and decided to protest again on August 8.
They protested naked on major roads and streets in the state capital, especially Ikwerre and Aba roads. [NAN]
Lawrence Emmy
August 14, 2015 at 1:45 AM
rip
mr fact
August 14, 2015 at 7:53 AM
Imagine this inhumanity act, this is too bad to bear, devil only use that aspect to operate in that mopol, for him to gain his mission on that man(driver) imagine N100 lead to sporadical shooting,and according to d story,dis man is d bread winner Ơ̴̴̴̴͡ƒ the family also just got wedded,that was where the devil had waited him,nothing can be done any longer.
May God console his family and wipe away their tears,
Benso
August 14, 2015 at 1:12 PM
They are trigger happy people, they should not be giving them guns. The family now is in pain, why should people always shoot at unarmed persons. May his soul rest in perfect peace and pray that God will console the family at this trying time.
tonymacdon
August 14, 2015 at 2:45 PM
We need freedom
Grace
August 14, 2015 at 4:33 PM
I know is hard but the driver would have given the police man the 100 niara. Before he started bus driver job he must understand it is part of the whole show.
Begging money harassment is a Nigeria culture. It is very bad culture. 99% of our Nigerians beg or ask for money. When one refuse to give them is big wahala. If you ask someone direction he needs money. A security opens gate for you to pas he needs money. It is a culture practice or embedded only in Nigerians. Other countries in Africa do not have this culture.
May the soul of the bus driver rest in peace. Those harassing for money are heartless and must get their reward. Good to give but not in that forceful manner. give me give me or nothing for us. Imagine someone who ends just 5000 naira. this attitude is driving away tourists visitors and good Nigerians overseas not to come back to Nigeria. Honestly many of us need to change. Is very bad.
TOPE
November 21, 2015 at 9:16 AM
IT HAS BEEN THE POLICE SECOND NATURE ,KLLING ,HARRASEMENT