The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike has said that the Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris has approved post-humous promotion of Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko and his colleague Sergeant Sunday Agbo, who died during a shootout with armed robbers at a bank in Owerri last February.

Sergeant Iboko’s exploits and bravery are documented in a CCTV video of the incident which went viral on the Internet, four months after the robbery. He died from gunshot injuries a day after the incident.

Speaking to Punch in a telephone interview, Ezike said that the surviving policeman Sergeant Otu Attang is being treated at a police hospital in Owerri.

“We have done the needful; the command has recommended them (the slain policemen) for post-humous promotion and the one injured for a special promotion and the IG is not aversed to the idea,” he stated.

On allegations that the police abandoned Iboko’s family, Ezike said the entitlements of the slain policemen were being processed and would be paid soon.

“The police officers are our men, so the issue of abandonment couldn’t have arisen; they are heroes. They did a gallant job and each time our men are wounded or die in action, it is painful. It is one of the great pains you would endure in this job. We have not abandoned the family,” he said.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign which was begun to raise money for Iboko’s family has surpassed its $15,000 target within 24 hours.

Photo Via PUNCH