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| Ekpo |
An
Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Area K Command, Morogbo,
Badagry, of the Lagos State Police Command, Osung Ekpo, has drowned in a
hotel’s swimming pool in the Ajah area of the state.
It was learnt that Ekpo died on Sunday,
Valentine’s Day, at about 5pm while swimming at the hotel.
This
is just as the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the command
had no suspicion about the death of the ACP until an autopsy report revealed
any reason to investigate further.
It
was gathered from reliable sources that Ekpo was in company with friends on
Sunday and had decided to swim when he drowned in the swimming pool.
He
was said to have been rescued from the pool by policemen and hotel workers, who
rushed him to a nearby hospital.
But
he reportedly died shortly after he was admitted, and was pronounced dead by
the doctor on duty.
It
was further learnt that Ekpo’s corpse was deposited in a morgue while
investigations were ongoing to unravel the cause of his death.
A
police source at the command headquarters, Ikeja, said that Ekpo was doing some laps as a form of exercise when he got
drowned.
He
said, “This incident is a bad Valentine’s gift to the police. The ACP died in a
swimming pool at a popular hotel in the Ajah area of Lagos. He was in company
with his friends, who had come there to celebrate Valentine’s Day with him. He
decided to swim and he got drowned.
“He
was quickly rushed to a hospital, but he did not make it. Several teams of
policemen have stormed the hotel as investigation is ongoing.”
A
close friend of the deceased, who did not identify herself, described him as
friendly, adding that it was unbelievable that he drowned.
She
said, “When I heard about the death, I could not believe it. How could he have
drowned? It was not his first time of swimming, so what could have happened? I
have yet to come to terms with the news of his death.”
Ekpo was married with children and hailed
from Akwa Ibom State.
He
was said to have been the Divisional Police Officer in Ajah before he was
promoted to ACP.
A
top police chief, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deceased had
been living in the hotel for a long time.
He
said, “He had been living in that hotel since he was the Divisional Police
Officer in Ajah. He was an area commander with a difference and his death is a
shock to many of us.”
The
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.
She
said, “It is true that we have lost ACP Ekpo, the Area Commander, Area K
Command, Morogbo. He was exercising in a swimming pool when he died.”
The
CP, Owoseni, said that Ekpo was instrumental in recovering weapons used by bank
robbers in the Agbara area of Ogun State.
He
said the command would only have a reason to suspect a foul play in the ACP’s
death if the autopsy report confirmed that.
He
said, “Ekpo had gone to exercise in the hotel, but he died in the course of the
exercise. His exercise was swimming, and he had done some press-ups and
preliminary running around before jumping into the water.
“At
the moment, the command does not have any reason for suspicion. The body is in
the morgue, and a post-mortem will be carried out. Suspicion will only come in
when the autopsy comes out.
“On
a personal level, Ekpo was a pleasant officer, and he had been effective in
most of the operations we carried out in the command. An instance was the last
bank robbery in Agbara, Ogun State.
“Through
his efforts as the Area Commander in Morogbo, Badagry, he and his men in
conjunction with the Rapid Response Squad successfully foiled the move by the
robbers to infiltrate Lagos State. And that was why we were able to cage them
on water.
“He
also led the operation to recover the gunboats and canoes used by the robbers
which led to their eventual arrest. Since July that I came, we have not
recorded any bad incident in the state from that area.”
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