Juliana Francis
Edo civil society organisations (EDOCSO) has expressed displeasure over the long detention of Mr. Irumhe Paul without proper investigation to ascertain his culpability in the matter that has to do with diversion diesel.
Leftist Samuel Idebogie, Director Of Media Auchi study center, explained that on the 21st of July 2023, he and other comrades got a phone call from the family of Mr Irumhe Paul who has been in detention since last week Friday over an alleged theft of PMS as he is a manager at one of the filling stations in Auchi.
Idebogie said that the allegation against Paul was investigated by members of the EDOCSO, to ascertain the circumstances surrounding his arrest.
Idebogie added: “The said owner of the filling station arrested Mr. Paul because they found out that the reserved tank made for PMS was almost empty.
“Instead of the police carrying their investigation properly, they detained the suspect unlawfully for a week and rendered him incommunicado on the order of the said owner of the filling station.
“The family of Mr. Paul carried out their own personal investigation and discovered that the reserved tank at the filling station has a leak underground and it has affected a lot of boreholes around the area and even the water they normally use for their business and household have polluted by the underground leakage of the tank.
“After much deliberation, the Section leader of the police investigation team frown at our appearance and was vibrating. We just quickly left him and went to see the Area commander who was on the seat.
“After our meeting with the area commander, he immediately gave orders to the Sectional leader of the investigation team to go and investigate all the borehole users at the said location. The investigation team and our active comrades went to the said location to interview the homeowners of the borehole.
“Evidence was brought but would still need the expertise of an expert to confirm what is mixed with the water. On the report of our findings, the Area commander gave an order that the suspect should immediately be released on bail.
“The Area commander also advised the owner of the filling station to seek an expert to investigate the underground tank to know if there’s an actual leakage. The suspect was later released on bail.”
