It was dusk at dawn for the family of a former scribe of the Anambra State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Rex Okechukwu, following the alleged murder of their son by a trigger-happy private security operative at Akili-Ozizor in Ogbaru Council Area of the state.
The deceased, Chinedu Okechukwu, aged 27, met his sudden death a few days after his return to their Ochuche country home, at about 8.30 am, the weekend.
According to a family source, the deceased had earlier informed his father that he wanted to eat fresh fish and left to procure the fish at a fish pond located within the premises of Senator Stella Odua Estate, in Akili-Ozizor, a neighboring community.
He said barely 30 minutes afterward, a motorcyclist rushed into their compound at Ochuche community and informed his father that his son had been shot dead by an irate vigilante operative in the estate.
Reacting to the incident, the father described the death as shocking and devastating.
He revealed that intelligence reports showed that there was an altercation of words between his son and two security guards during which one of them pulled out a rifle and opened fire on him.
“As he fell down in a coma, one of them offered him water which he consumed and died.
“It is sad to observe that irresponsible, untrained persons are now allowed to carry arms under the guise of security which has culminated in the killing of innocent people in cold blood.
“Besides the gun trolling, guards should be interrogated on why they took the law into their own hands rather than handing my son over to the law enforcement agents if he had behaved absurdly instead of using firearms to decimate his life,” he stated.
In a petition to the Divisional Police Office, DPO, in charge of the area, Mr. Andrews, titled, “Gruesome murder of my 27-year-old undergraduate son by private security guards in Akili-Ozizor,” comrade Okechukwu demanded the immediate arrest, discrete investigation of the matter and prosecution of the suspect, adding that justice delayed is justice denied.
According to him, his son was neither armed with arms nor lethal objects during the visit, describing the vicious attack that snuffed life out of him, as barbaric and uncalled for, more so, when the scene of the incident is a public place.
“In the light of the foregoing, sir, the bereaved family cries out demanding that justice, equity, and fair play should be served on this matter. May we further request that a post-mortem examination be performed on the deceased in a bid to determine the cause of his death please,” the petition from the father read in part.
Confirming the incident, the DPO, Mr. Andrews said an investigation is ongoing.
