Police Officer shoots, kills superior officer in Ondo

Police from the Ondo State command are investigating the killing of a Divisional Crime Officer, (DCO) Timothy Aruehi, by a junior officer, Abraham Arowogun, who subsequently killed himself by jumping into a deep well in the police station.

The two deceased were attached to the Kajola Divisional Police station in Odigbo local government area of the state before the ugly incident happened.

According to a source, the incident which occurred on Tuesday remained a mystery to the people and residents of the community who described Arowogun as an easy going person with no record of mental illness.

The source said Arowogun who was a Inspector before his death, had a heated argument with the DCO over a case he was investigating where the late DCO, Aruehi, discovered that Arowogun had converted the sum of N150,000 meant for bribe into his private pocket.

He explained that Arowogun was angry over the order of the DCO to return the money with immediate effect, saying the junior officer left the office only to reappear with a gun, shooting Aruehi at close range, who gave up on the spot.

He said “There was an issue that happened between the two officers.  Arowogun was investigating a case and the DCO, Aruehi discovered that a sum of N150,000 was involved in the case Arowogun was investigating, that Arowogun had actually converted the money to his private purse. 

“The DCO called him and questioned him over the money and argument ensued between the two officers while the Inspector left the DCO office angrily only to come back with a gun and shot Aruehi dead.” 

The source said other policemen at the station ran for their lives immediately the incident happened while the Inspector headed straight to a deep well within the station and jumped in to it, killing himself in the process.

“He came back to his senses after killing his superior officer, realising that what he did was unprofessional and unpardonable in the police force, he just left the scene jumped into a well at the back of the station. ” the source stated. 

However the corpses of the two policemen were said to have been deposited at the mortuary in the Ondo State General Hospital, Ore. 

Speaking on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mr Femi Joseph who confirmed the incident described the incident as unfortunate but said the command had commenced investigation on the matter. 

Joseph said “It is an unfortunate incident but we have begun investigation on it, the command is sad over the incident and our hearts are very heavy, we are doing everything possible to further dig into the matter and also to talk to our officers and men on the need to avert similar occurrence.”