Operatives of the Delta state police command chased one Emeka in the middle of the night until he “hit his head on the wall” and died.

The public relations officer of the command, Bright Edafe, confirmed the development in a statement on Friday.

An X user, Victor Onwuemene, who claimed to be a friend of the cousin of the deceased, alleged on Thursday that Mr Emeka died on Wednesday after the police in Asaba hit him with their gun for refusing to follow them to an unknown destination.

Mr Onwuemene wrote, “Asaba @PoliceNG killed Emeka my friend’s cousin yesterday, just because he refused to follow them to an unknown destination. They hit him with a gun and the rest is history as at last night his lifeless body is in the mortuary 😭💔 #Justice4Emeka✊🏾”

Clarifying what actually transpired and absolving his colleagues of blame for the death, Mr Edafe said the brother of the deceased visited the command and narrated a different version of the incident.

He said that, according to the brother, Mr Emeka and a few others “made a U-turn and started running” after sighting the police. While others were later arrested, the deceased, in his attempt to evade arrest, hit his head on the wall and later died in the hospital.

“They sighted the police at night, made a U-turn, and started running. The police chased and arrested the others; this guy—may his soul rest in peace—ran and hit his head on the wall. He was rushed to the hospital and died two weeks later. This is the account of his brother, who cried to my office. After his story, I asked him, ‘How do you blame the police for that?'” Mr. Edafe said.

In a later post, Mr Edafe said there is video evidence and a handwritten statement to prove his claim regarding the account given by the deceased’s brother, in the presence of his uncle. However, he admitted he hasn’t inquired about the account of the relevant officers regarding the incident.

“As much as we condole with the family of the deceased, it’s also pertinent to note that we have a piece of video evidence and his handwritten statement stating exactly what I am saying now.

“Like I said, I have not even asked the policemen what happened. The account I gave is the account of his brother who cried to my office two days ago. After the driver was arrested, he walked up to the police with a bloody head, and he said he hit his head on a wall. This statement he made was in the presence of one of his uncles.”