Police officer slumps, dies in office

The incident happened during a meeting of officers at the office of the Ebonyi State commissioner of police in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

A senior police officer, Ogbon-Inu Taiwo Popoola, has died after he slumped during a meeting in Ebonyi State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The deceased officer, Mr Popoola, is an assistant commissioner of police in charge of the State Intelligence Department in Ebonyi.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the police chief died at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The incident happened during a meeting of officers at the office of the Ebonyi State commissioner of police in Abakaliki, the state capital.

Sources told this newspaper that while at the meeting, Mr Popoola suddenly developed breathing difficulty and later slumped.

He was immediately rushed to the Police Medical Centre at the Police Headquarters, Abakaliki, where he was promptly attended to by some medical personnel on duty.

It was gathered that despite efforts to resuscitate him, the officer was subsequently confirmed dead by medical doctors on duty.

Some staffers within the medical facility told PREMIUM TIMES that, based on their preliminary findings, cardiac arrest must have been responsible for the death of the officer.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased officer has been deposited at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital mortuary in Abakaliki.

Police speak

When contacted on Thursday, the police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, confirmed Mr Popoola’s death to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, said the deceased officer had a crisis during the meeting and was rushed to a hospital immediately.

“Unfortunately he didn’t survive. He was not sick before the incident. If he was sick he wouldn’t have attended the meeting,” he said.

The spokesperson described Mr Popoola as a “dedicated officer”, who served the Nigeria Police Force with “commitment and professionalism.”

He said the commissioner of police in Ebonyi State and the state police command have commiserated with the family of the deceased officer.