In a distressing incident on Thursday along the Onitsha-Owerri Road by Obodoukwu Junction in Onitsha, Anambra State, chaos ensued as a young man lost his life to a stray bullet fired by individuals clad in black jackets suspected to be affiliated with the Anambra State Anti-touts Agency.
The victim, identified as Chimezie from Achina, Aguata Local Government Area, had been standing on the balcony of his residence near Okpoko Police Station in Ogbaru Local Government Area when the fatal bullet struck him. Chimezie had recently completed his National Youth Service Corps.
Following this tragic event, angered youths, originating from the Metallurgical Training Institute along the Onitsha-Owerri Road, marched to the Amanato area, causing disruptions by setting bonfires on both lanes of the road. This upheaval impeded the smooth flow of traffic in the vicinity.
Sources said that the anti-tout operatives who invaded the area in a bid to stop the protesting youths opened fire and started shooting sporadically in an effort to scare the protesters.
The source said, “The youths were protesting incessant arrests, intimidation and harassment of youths in the area by the anti-tout squad, agents of the state government, wearing different kinds uniforms and acting as revenue agents at the same time.
“They always extort tricycle operators while claiming to be working for the state government. They collect between N300 and N500 per trip in the name of collecting revenue for the state government.
“It was during the protest that the operatives emerged from nowhere and started shooting sporadically in the air apparently to scare the protesters away, but in the process, the residents and traders whose movements for their commercial and business activities was at its peak, started running for their safety, with some sustaining injuries in the process. In the process, a bullet hit a young man standing at his balcony.”
Another source, a trader, who identified himself as Ozoemenam, said, “It was in the process of the sporadic shooting in the air that the deceased victim, who was discussing in the balcony of their flat, sustained gunshot injuries apparently from a stray bullet and died instantly.”
It was gathered that officers from Okpoko Police Station were invited to evacuate the corpse of the deceased and deposited the remains at the mortuary.
A senior police officer from the station, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death of the victim and the evacuation of his corpse at the morgue.
The officer said that the youths were protesting their incessant arrest, detention and intimidation around Owerri Road, Obodoukwu Road and Ezeiweka areas and its environs.
“The youths in the area were protesting the midnight arrest, between 2: 30 and 3:30 am by the anti-tout operatives, and this morning they came back and opened fire on them and in the process the victim was killed.
“You know that these anti-tout squad members were not trained in handling arms, so they must have shot unprofessionally before the bullet hit that young man.”
Efforts to speak with the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, proved abortive as he did not respond to the messages and calls to his telephone line as of the time of filing this report.
