The family and friends of a 22-year-old University of Port Harcourt graduate, Anthony Obodo, have demanded justice over his alleged killing by policemen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with his father alleging that the officers involved had abandoned a duty post at the Nigerian Bar Association conference before the incident.
The demand came on Tuesday as protests over Obodo’s death entered their third day, with family members and friends staging another demonstration at the Ada George-Agip junction, where the incident occurred last Thursday.
Obodo was reportedly driving a private car when policemen at a checkpoint allegedly flagged him down for failing to stop.
The policemen were said to have chased the vehicle, after which one of the officers allegedly fired three shots in Obodo’s direction. One of the bullets reportedly struck him inside the vehicle.
He was subsequently rushed to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Blessing Agabe, had identified the alleged shooter as Corporal Alfred Louis, adding that the officer and other policemen involved in the incident had been arrested.
According to the police, youths attacked Louis after the shooting and took his rifle, but other operatives later rescued him and recovered the weapon.
During Tuesday’s protest, the demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions including, “We are not safe anymore, Anthony Obodo was a friend, brother and son. Give us justice”; “The police can no longer protect us. They took Anthony’s life”; and “Anthony was shot dead by the police. We need justice.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, one of their leaders, Charles Chukwu, called on the Rivers State Government, the police authorities and the Chief Judge of the state to intervene in the matter.
Chukwu said, “We are saddened by the sudden death of our brother, Master Anthony Obodo, who was killed on Thursday, 27th August 2026. The police flagged Anthony down and a blood-thirsty officer met the young boy and shot him thrice. He was later confirmed dead.
“We are therefore calling on the Rivers State Government, the Inspector-General of Police and civil society to come to our aid and seek justice for our brother, Master Anthony Obodo. We demand justice now.”
He also urged the police authorities to parade the officer alleged to have fired the fatal shot, saying doing so would reassure the family and the public that the suspect was not being shielded.
“The team responsible for Anthony Obodo’s death should be apprehended and the right punishment should be served on them for killing a fellow citizen. As we speak, we don’t know the killers of our brother, Master Anthony Obodo.
“We therefore call on the police to display such a person before us because such a person is not fit to be in the police. They are meant to protect us, but now they are the ones killing us. We are sad,” Chukwu said.
Addressing the protesters, the state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, appealed for calm and condemned the conduct of the officers involved.
Adepoju assured the protesters that the police would not shield any officer found culpable, adding that the officers involved had been arrested and detained.
“The police will never cover anybody. Since that day, they have been arrested and handcuffed. I have been talking to the father. All those people have been detained.
“In a crowd like this, everybody will be saying what they like. Somebody has been killed and we condemn it, and there has to be justice. People that did it would be shown as an example for others to stop,” the CP stated.
However, the deceased’s father, Princewill Obodo, alleged that his son was targeted and killed, adding that he was informed by the Divisional Police Officer that the policemen involved had been deployed to provide security at the just-concluded NBA Annual General Conference at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt.
According to him, the officers were expected to return to their duty post by 7pm but allegedly left the conference venue before the incident occurred.
“The DPO also told us that those police officers were deployed to the NBA conference at Elekahia and were supposed to report back by 7pm. He said he was surprised to hear that they left their duty post to come here to carry out this mayhem.
“I want justice for my son because my son is innocent. The Police Area Commander has confirmed that my son is innocent. The DPO where these miscreants came from confirmed that my son is innocent. I want to call on Nigerians to ensure that my son gets justice,” he said.
The grieving father said the incident had left the family devastated.
“I feel broken. I feel highly broken. My heart bleeds. I have not had peace since the demise of my son. The entire family is in mourning. The entire family is heartbroken. The entire family is crying. We’ve been crying. So I feel highly broken,” Obodo said, fighting back tears.
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