Gberigbe died of heart attack, not gunshot wounds, Rivers SARS‎ tells Reps

There was a fresh twist on Monday over the actual cause of death of Dr. Ferry Gberigbe, a senior lecturer at Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, who was allegedly shot and killed in March during election violence in Rivers state.

Akin Fakorede, Head of Rivers State Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) told the House of Representatives investigating the involvement of the army and police on the election violence that the late Gberigbe died of heart attack occasioned by food poisoning from his associates.

‎Fakorode, in a letter dated 6 May, 2019, to the House Joint Committee chaired by Rimande Shawulu (PDP, Taraba), said: ‎”Dr. Ferry Gberigbe was killed by friends and associates and not men of Rivers SARS.

“The‎ bullet that killed Ferry was not from the Police rifle but from a local rifle. In fact, Ferry did not die from gunshot wound, but from heart attack occasioned by food poisoning.”

However, Fakorede’s letter was a direct contradiction to the official position of the Rivers State Police Command, as stated by the Police Commissioner, Usman Hassan.

According to him, the State Police Command was still investigating the death of the late lecturer, and as such has not come up with the official cause of death.

“On the case of Ferry Gberigbe, the murder is still under investigation. Even the police have not had access to the corpse. The Police cannot state at this point the cause of Gberigbe’s death,” the Commissioner said.

It was at this point that the committee chairman, Shawulu, pointed out the irreconcilable contradictions in the two versions of the cause of Gberigbe’s death by the Rivers Police.

The investigative hearing followed a motion on the “Need to investigate the death of Ferry Gberigbe killed by the Nigerian Army and SARS led by Akin Fakorode.”