Tension in Bonny Island Over Death of Old Woman Allegedly Tasered by Operatives of NDLEA

Palpable tension engulfed Bonny Island in Rivers State, Nigeria as operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) allegedly tasered to death an old woman, Kelechi Augustine Ibe, in the New Jerusalem area of the serene island.

Eyewitnesses told Kristina Reports that the incident happened about 1am on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 when NDLEA operatives stormed the compound where the old woman resides, allegedly broke into her room and several other rooms and assaulted everyone they found there.

An eyewitness, Kalada Longjohn told Kristina Reports that the operatives, who were armed to the teeth and wore face masks and their jacket with the inscription ‘NDLEA’, neither identified themselves or presented a search or arrest warrant.

According to him, the operatives ransacked the old woman’s house purportedly in search of hard drugs which they did not find, pushed down the woman’s water drum and forced her to sit on the floor inside the water while they tasered her.

Another eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said the operatives forced other occupants of the compound to lie face down on the floor while the operation lasted, after threatening to shoot them.

According to him, the deceased, Mrs. Ibe was shouting at the top of her voice that she has high blood pressure (HBP) while they tasered her, stressing that “the house na batcher, so all of us dey hear as the woman dey shout say she get high BP as them dey shock her”.

Also speaking, another eyewitness, Opuwari Longjohn asserted that drug dealing was an alien phenomenon in the neighbourhood thus making the said operation a misnomer, adding that the operatives allegedly took the woman’s money, her mobile phone and that of her brother.

In a chat with Kristina Reports, the resident doctor at St. Peter’s Clinic, Bonny, Dr. Makpah Victor said he certified the woman dead at 4.15am, after checking her vitals and administering stabilizing medication on her to which she did not respond one hour after she was brought in.

She was again certified dead at the Zonal Hospital by one of the resident doctors, Dr. Patience Longjohn, who stated in her report, which was sighted by Kristina Reports, as ‘brought in dead’ or ‘BID’.

Meanwhile, the proactive measure by the Divisional Police Officer, Bonny Division, Anthony Anyalechi saved the day as he quickly responded with his men to distress calls that angry youths had taken the woman’s corpse to the NDLEA office along Hospital Road and cordoned off the area.

Kristina Reports met him deploying non-kinetic measures in containing the rampaging youths who were vexed over the unfortunate death of the old woman many of them referred to as Mama G.

Efforts by Kristina Reports to reach the Area Commander of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), John David, as our Correspondent was kept waiting for over two hours with different stories of his arrival from the NLNG residential area where he stays which did not happen until he left.