Cops probe 'murder ­conspiracy'

The police say they are investigating allegations that the recent death of a Nigerian professor in Windhoek was not suicide.

The family of Dr Ayetuoma Cyril Ogbokor told a Nigerian news website this week that there had been a conspiracy to murder him and that he did not commit suicide.

Ogbokor (56), a Nigerian national, was an associate professor in the accounting, economics and finance department of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust).

According to a police report Ogbokor committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with his 7.65mm pistol in his Klein Windhoek flat on 5 August. He was found in the bathroom by his wife. No suicide note was found.

His family reportedly rejected the police report and are adamant that he was murdered.

According to the Sahara Reporters news website, a family member, who identified himself only as Roy, said: “With reliable information at our disposal, we, the Ogbokor family, are convinced that our brother and breadwinner was brutally murdered in cold blood and we are demanding justice.

“There was no iota of truth in the (police) report. We smelt a conspiracy in the report, just in the bid to cover up what actually happened to our brother.”

The family also questioned whether Ogbokor had shot himself in the chest, claiming that a suicide gunshot is never aimed at the chest but at the head.

They also wanted to know why, if Ogbokor had killed himself, he was still holding his cellphone in his hand, and whether forensic analysts had determined how far the gun was from his chest.

The family members wanted to know why the police concluded it was a suicide if there was no suicide note, and whether an autopsy was carried out before this deduction was made.

The chief police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi, said these were very serious allegations and they must be proven.

“We are taking these allegations in a very serious light,” he said.

Kanguatjivi said the police were still waiting for the autopsy report before commenting on the conspiracy allegations.

He said the post mortem would confirm whether it was indeed suicide.

Kanguatjivi explained that if a person commits suicide there would be gunshot residue on their hands.

That is just one of the factors that would be taken into account, Kanguatjivi said.

Others are the angle of the gun, whether shots were heard and whether the door was locked in the room where the person was found.

A memorial service for Dr Ogbokor was held at Nust yesterday.