Detained Police Officer Linked to Rivers Deadly Shooting Continues to Receive Salary

A serving police officer detained over a murder investigation connected to the deadly June 2024 violence at Eberi-Omuma Local Government Council Secretariat in Rivers State has continued to receive his monthly salary while in custody, SaharaReporters has revealed.

Documents exclusively obtained show that Inspector Hycent Oboh was credited with N249,138.13 on December 29, 2025, despite being locked up at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Port Harcourt. The payment description reads: “ETZ:08MWPZ037271; COP08MWPZ037271: EBONYI.”

A separate document dated December 31, 2025, confirms Inspector Oboh is being held in the ‘D’ Department cell, Section D4, as a suspect in a murder case, with Inspector Festus and his team serving as the Investigating Police Officers.

The salary payment comes as the Nigeria Police Force concluded an internal disciplinary trial over a violent confrontation that claimed at least two lives on June 18, 2024.

The victims were Inspector David Mgbada, a serving police officer, and Samuel Nwigwe, a civilian security operative with a local vigilante group. The shooting occurred during heightened political tension over the leadership of Omuma Local Government Council.

Twelve police officers were subsequently arraigned in an orderly room trial on three counts under the Police Act and Regulations.

Count One accused the officers of discreditable conduct for allegedly engaging in crossfire that turned the council secretariat into what prosecutors called a “battle ground.”

Count Two alleged unlawful exercise of authority, with some police officers accused of using excessive force that led to the fatal shootings.

Count Three accused them of damaging government property through the waste of ammunition, including AK-47 and GPMG rounds, as well as smoke canisters.

All officers pleaded not guilty when the trial commenced on August 1, 2024.

Success Amaefule, the first prosecution witness, told the panel that members of a political group had gathered peacefully when armed officers allegedly arrived, fired gunshots, and deployed teargas.

He claimed bullets struck two civilians and linked some officers to a federal lawmaker, Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, though he said the lawmaker was not present.

Under cross-examination, Amaefule insisted he saw police officers firing and throwing teargas, naming six accused persons. However, the panel later faulted his claims.

CSP Okiridu Harcourt, former DPO of Eberi-Omuma, testified that he had intervened to calm tensions before gunfire erupted from outside the council premises. He said officers attached to a political figure began firing rifles without provocation and that he personally evacuated the critically injured Inspector Mgbada.

Other witnesses, including commercial drivers, testified that teargas filled the area and vehicles were damaged by bullets, forcing them to flee into nearby bushes.

Inspector Festus Ilerhunwa, the investigating police officer, told the panel that investigators recovered 21 AK-47 empty shells, 22 GPMG shells, teargas canisters, and evidence of bullet damage.

Autopsies at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital showed Inspector Mgbada died from hemorrhagic shock due to gunshot injury, while the cause of Samuel Nwigwe’s death was not medically established.

Inspector Ilerhunwa disclosed that some police formations refused to release rifles and arms movement registers for forensic analysis, a move the panel later said compromised the investigation.

Inspector Hycent Oboh, attached to the Rivers State Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, claimed officers in black uniforms fired into the premises. He denied firing his weapon and submitted a medical report showing teargas exposure.

Other officers either denied firing or claimed they were not present during the incident.

Despite hearing testimony from eight prosecution witnesses and admitting multiple exhibits, the panel held that no witness could identify who shot Inspector Mgbada or link any accused officer directly to the fatal shooting.

The panel also found that allegations relating to teargas deployment could not be sustained and that claims of civilians being hit by stray bullets were not investigated or verified.

It criticised the investigating officer for failing to conduct an identification parade and for not subjecting evidence, including a video recording, to proper investigative scrutiny.

The panel discharged and acquitted 10 officers but found two—Inspector Michael Etim and Inspector Nelson Mbang—guilty of discreditable conduct for engaging in illegal duty outside their approved beats. Both were demoted from Inspector to Sergeant.

In a controversial ruling, the panel recommended that late Inspector Mgbada be tried posthumously for unlawfully co-opting officers into the security team of the Omuma Local Government caretaker chairman without approval.

The panel also recommended that investigators identify and arrest those responsible for the unlawful acts at the council on June 18, 2024, stressing that perpetrators “cannot go unpunished.”

Both convicted police officers have seven days to appeal the decision.