The Commander of the Eagle Crack team in Rivers State, Mr. Adetuyi Benson has been redeployed in connection with the death of a mechanic, Ikwunado Chima, in police custody.

Reporters gathered that Adetuyi was redeployed to the State Police Command on Thursday pending the end of an ongoing investigation on the death of Chima and the alleged torture of four of his friends.

Chima was said to have lost his life after he went through torture from some personnel of the Eagle Crack team at the Mile One Police Division in Port Harcourt on December 23, 2019, four days after he was arrested.

The mechanic was arrested alongside his four friends in a car he (Chima) was given to repair by one of his customers.

Speaking on the transfer of the former commander, who was also the Officer-in-Charge of the Eagle Crack team, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed Benson’s transfer from to the State Police Command.

Omoni further disclosed that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mustapha Daudaura, had issued Benson a query over Chima’s death and alleged torture of four persons, who had since been declared innocent by the court.

Omoni noted that Benson’s redeployment was to pave way for a thorough investigation of the matter, promising that the investigation will be comprehensive.

“The O.C. Eagle Crack team has been redeployed. The reason for his redeployment is to conduct a thorough investigation. The investigation is expected to be comprehensive. Already, the CP has issued him a query. For now, he is no longer the O.C. Eagle Crack team,” he said.

The state police spokesman, however, pointed out that investigation into the matter would not be complete if an independent autopsy was not carried out on Chima’s corpse.

“On Monday, we are going to conduct an autopsy because the Omega Power Ministries, a church based in the state, has agreed to foot the bill for the independent autopsy. The exercise was delayed because the family of the deceased were not able to foot the bill,” Omoni added.