Serious tragedy unfolded in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State on Tuesday when a police patrol vehicle, in pursuit of a suspect, struck and killed a six-year-old girl.
The father of the deceased, Nnamdi Ugorji, told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that officers from the Moshalashi Police Station were in pursuit of a suspect when they fatally struck his daughter at the Ecobank roundabout in Iyana-Ipaja.
“The police were chasing someone, and in the process, they hit my daughter with their vehicle,” Ugorji said, struggling to hold back tears.
“My daughter with her siblings went to EcoBank to withdraw money from the ATM. While they were returning, a speeding car ran over my daughter and killed her,” Ugorji said.
He accused the police of attempting to cover up the incident by falsely claiming that the car had somersaulted.
“It is obvious to anyone who comes to see the car that they are lying about it somersaulting. The car is at the police station, but they want to cover up their crime to exonerate themselves,” he said.
“The police officers are the ones who caused this problem, and they are lying. My baby was only 6 years old — she was my first daughter,” Ugorji added, his voice filled with emotion.
He explained that he was at his workplace in Ogba when he received the news that his daughter had been killed by police officers chasing a suspect.
“Why would police officers, who are responsible for preventing and detecting crime, maintaining law and order, and protecting lives and property, lie about the car somersaulting when nothing of the sort happened?” he asked.
“They know what they did to my child. They also have children they protect—would they pray for such a thing to happen to them? Why are they lying? Don’t they fear God and the Last Day?” he lamented.
Ugorji told SaharaReporters that his daughter’s body would be transported to their village in Abia State for a proper burial.
He called on President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Women Affairs, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene and ensure the officers responsible for his daughter’s death were brought to justice.
“Now I don’t know what to do. As a poor man, where will I get the money to take her to the village for burial? It is very unfortunate that those who are supposed to protect us are the ones killing us,” he said.
“I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to come to my aid. I want justice for my daughter,” he pleaded.
When SaharaReporters contacted the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, he said, “I am not aware of this case. I will make my findings, and if there are any developments, I will get back to you.”
