The officer in charge of Firearms at the State Criminal Investigation Department, CID of Enugu State Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, Boniface Ukwa was mistakenly shot dead by his fellow policemen during an exchange of gunfire with suspected kidnappers in Enugu.

The death of the police officer, who is a Knight of Saint John, according to a security chief in the state, was a case of mistaken identity as he was shot at close range by policemen from the newly created Independence Layout Police Division in Enugu metropolis on the trail of kidnappers.

The gruesome murder of the police officer was a subject of rumour within the coal city yesterday as he was mistaken for a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftain who could have been a victim of politically motivated assassination.
Source ;Vanguard 25,June.
But Saturday Vanguard reliably learnt that Ukwa actually attended a meeting of Knights of Saint John held at the residence of a top civil servant in Enugu Tuesday night where the members deliberated on the planned reception for the new National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, who is also a Knight of Saint John.



"Following the kidnap of one Engr. Emejulu that Tuesday night, members of his family made several distress calls which policemen from Independence Layout Division promptly responded to. The police team was trailing the kidnappers when the late police officer ran into them and in a situation which is still unclear to the police, the battle-ready policemen opened fire and shot him dead," the source told Saturday Vanguard yesterday.

The police officer was reportedly dragged into the patrol van and taken to the police station where the team announced their gallantry claiming to have gunned down one of the deadly kidnappers that kidnapped the engineer, but unknown to them, the man gunned down was a police chief.

The source said the lifeless body of Ukwa was later identified by a senior police officer in the division as the OC Firearms at the state CID and not that of the wanted kidnappers of Emejulu.

However, soldiers from 82 Division of the Nigerian Army Enugu trailed the kidnappers to Ubulu community in Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi State Wednesday and smashed the kidnappers two of who were killed in a gun duel while two others were arrested.

Their two captives including the engineer and one Princewill Ilo, younger brother of the Secretary to Enugu State Government, SSG, Martin Ilo, were rescued. The kidnappers on interrogation, admitted that they actually abducted Emejulu from his residence and denied knowing the deceased police officer.

An unconfirmed report also said yesterday that a female staff of the Press Unit of the Enugu Government House, Nkiru Chukwu said to have wedded on May 29, this year was also killed by a stray bullet fired by the same police team while chasing the kidnappers at the Independence Layout in Enugu.

The State police public relations officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu could not be reached for comments on the police officer's death yesterday.