CDHR Urges Delta CP to Thoroughly Profile Suspects in Ughelli VCRU Assault

By Ebis Martha 

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Delta State Branch, has urged the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Samuel E. Erale, to thoroughly profile all suspects arrested over the alleged assault on operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit in Ughelli, warning that innocent persons must not be made to bear the consequences of a crime they did not commit.

The call followed the October 1, 2026, attack on VCRU operatives at Okoroedafe, Ughelli, where a policeman was allegedly beaten by suspected cultists during a burial ceremony.

While condemning the attack and demanding the arrest and prosecution of those responsible, CDHR said the arrest of 24-year-old automobile electrician, Master Gani Progress, raised questions that required proper investigation before any prosecution or remand.

The human rights group, in a statement signed by its Delta State Chairman, Comrade Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, and State Publicity Secretary, Comrade Nosa Overseey, and made available to journalists, appealed to CP Erale to ensure that every suspect in custody was individually profiled and linked to the alleged offence through credible evidence.

CDHR said the demand for justice for the assaulted police officer must not come at the expense of the rights of innocent citizens.

According to the organisation, available information indicated that Progress lives at Uloho Street, Ughelli, while the incident occurred at Okoroedafe. It further alleged that he was at work on the day of the incident and was later arrested while asleep at his residence before being transferred to Asaba alongside other suspects.

The group said Progress, 24, has no prior criminal record and was raised in Delta State.

CDHR stated that its intervention was not intended to excuse the alleged attack on the police but to ensure that the investigation distinguishes between those allegedly responsible for the assault and persons who may have been arrested in the course of the police operation.

“Justice demands that the innocent must not suffer with the guilty,” the organisation said.

It urged the police command to conduct a thorough investigation and warned against arraigning or remanding suspects on holding charges without credible evidence linking them to the alleged crime.

“The Police must get justice. But justice must also be done to every Nigerian,” CDHR added.