Family kicks as police shoots, kills ex-Minister’s daughter in Abuja

The family of a former finance minister, Nenadi Usman, has written the
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over alleged murder of the
former Minister's 31-year-old daughter, Anita Akapson.

The family's petition was signed by their lawyer , Kayode Ajulo,
alleging that Anita "was trailed, targeted, intercepted, her vehicle
brushed, blocked and shot at close range by a police officer at
Katampe District, Abuja."

There have been reports that Akapson, who recently returned to Nigeria
after her university education in the United Kingdom, was shot dead by
a Superintendent of Police on around 11 pm on Saturday.

She was driving out of her house at Katampe Extension by Gwarimpa
Estate in a Honda Accord car when she met her death.

Policemen were said to have surrounded the Akapson's building and were
lying in wait for a fleeing armed robbery suspect when the woman drove
out of the compound.

But the family said Akapson was shot in the stomach after the police
blocked her car and punctured the tyres with several bullets.

The lawyer to the family, Ajulo, in the petition demanded a thorough
investigation into the killing, stating that Akapson's murderers were
being shielded by the police authorities.

Ajulo hinted that Usman was apprehensive that the murder might have
political undertones on account of her position as a member of the
leading opposition party in the country.

The petition read in part, "The circumstances of the trailing,
tracking and gruesome murder of the deceased who had a strong affinity
with Senator Nenadi Usman, a member of the leading opposition
political party in Nigeria, and who is presently facing continuous
prosecutions from the state, calls for thorough and comprehensive
investigation.

"Given the level of intimidation of opposition by the
instrumentalities of the state, our clients are worried as to the
intent or possible calculated assassination of the deceased to further
cause anguish to the family."