A middle aged man, Oforma Itodo, has been allegedly hacked to
death in Aji Community, Igbo- Eze North Local Government Area, Enugu
State, barely four days after burying his mother.
It
was gathered that the deceased just returned to bury his mother only to
be attacked by unknown assailants, allegedly numbering over 50, armed
with matchets, axes and guns. A family source to the deceased who
pleaded anonymity told newsmen that the assailants invaded their
compound in their numbers in the early hours of March 3, 2014, accosted
Oforma with matchets, axes and guns, and refused to hear from any of the
family members who pleaded to know what was the problem.
“The
assailants made straight to Oforma who was caring his little baby,
forced the baby out of his hands and started butchering him with
matchets at every part of his body before dragging him out of the
compound to an unknown place where they finally finished him, abandoned
him and fled. We are yet to know what may have caused the attack and
killing barely four days after our mother was buried,” he lamented.
The source further disclosed that the assailants did not cover their
identities as they know a good number of them, alleging that one James
who was popularly known in the community as Otiyo allegedly was the
first person to matchet him. He also alleged that among the assailants
were a herbalist, a hunchback and others whose surnames could not be
ascertained as at press time.
The source wondered why the
assailants who were operating as members of a neighborhood watch in the
community did not take him to Enugu Ezike Police Station for
interrogation if he had committed any crime than the jungle justice
meted on him.
The deceased, Oforma, popularly known in the
community as “One Kaine man” was said to have been out of the community
for quite sometime, evading the so called neighborhood watch, allegedly
being run by a top government official in Enugu who hailed from the
community because he refused to join them.
It was also gathered
that the killing of Oforma was to permanent cover up implicating
statements of some armed robbers recently arrested in the community with
dangerous weapons. The suspects had allegedly mentioned names of some
prominent persons in the community as their sponsors.
Family
sources revealed that the deceased had earlier petitioned the Inspector-
General of Police over threats to his life which was forwarded to Enugu
State Police Command for investigations.
The matter, according
to the source, took a different dimension later after it got to an
Enugu High Court where surprisingly, the petitioner was allegedly
charged as an accused person instead of the complainant. The High Court
Judge on seeing that the matter was upturned against the complainant,
discharged him and since then, his assailants have been after him. They
killed him four days after he buried his mother.
A competent
source in the community disclosed that the killer group were not genuine
members of the neighborhood watch in the community but were allegedly
working for the top Government Official who was said to have paid a
whopping sum of N300,000.00 to the leader of the killer-group who
allegedly directed his boys to carry out the barbaric and gruesome
murder of Oforma. Investigation also revealed that the leader of the
gang hired some men from outside the community while a good number of
them were natives of Aji Community. They invaded Oforma’s house around
5.30am on that fateful day.
Contacted for comments, Enugu State
Police Public Relations Office, PPRO, Ebere Amarizu( DSP) said that the
deceased was mentioned by three armed robbery suspects already reminded
in prison custody as one of their members who escaped when they were
arrested, explaining that angry mob attacked him as he returned.
It
was also said that the mob gave him severe beating leaving him half
dead while he died before police could come to rescue the situation in
the community.
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