Following the torture and eventual death of Chima, a motor mechanic by the men of the Rivers State Police command, the family has requested for his body so that an autopsy can be conducted to ascertain the cause of his death.
The family has since January made efforts to retrieve the corpse for autopsy and burial but the Rivers State Police command has not been able to release the Corps. It is believed that the police may have disposed of the body as it is their usual practice when inmates die in their custody.
The police through its spokesman Nnamdi Omoni had claimed that an autopsy carried out on Chima’s body showed that he died of high blood sugar and not from torture as speculated. The family has since debunked this saying Chima was not diabetic nor sick before he was arrested. A fresh autopsy was fixed for Monday, 10th February 2020.
Chima was arrested alongside his four friends and was charged with car theft. Even after the owners of the cars came to claim their cars and told the police Chima was their mechanic, the police still detained Chima and his friends. His friends have been acquitted by a magistrate court sitting in Port Harcourt after the DPP found them innocent of the accusations.
We would continue to keep you updated as the news unfold.