Hundreds of youths yesterday protested the alleged killing of their kinsman, Onyedikachi Nwaogu, in his compound at Umuokpo community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State by Inspector Robinson Otobong Abel, an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The protesters comprising youths from the area and other sympathizers marched with the body from Umuokpo to Aba city where they were confronted by several patrol teams of soldiers and policeman.
Efforts of the transition committee chairman of Obingwa Council, Chief Kingsley Nnaji, failed to sway the youths, who defied the security agents sporadic gunshots to parade the body at some media houses in Aba.
It was gathered that the NSCDC official attached to the Akwa Ibom State command was accompanying some white men to Akwa Ibom State when he shot Nwaogu as the Hilux van in which they were travelling tried to pass through his (Nwaogu’s) compound due to the dilapidated state of the Aba- Ikot Ekpene highway in the area.
The deceased was said to have insisted that the Hilux van should follow the Aba- Ikot Ekpene Highway as his father’s compound was not the highway. Residents of the community told journalists that the alleged killer, after barking at the deceased to make way, pulled out his gun and shot him on the legs and on his stomach.
After the shooting, the official reportedly threw Nwogu’s body into the back of the Hilux jeep and sped off towards the state’s border with Akwa Ibom State.
However, security men at the border were said to have arrested the NSCDC personnel and others with him while the youths set ablaze the van.
Eze-elect of the community, Chief Micah Ohajuru, urged the Federal Government to urgently rehabilitate the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Highway to save lives, stressing that the incident would have been averted if the road was in good condition.
The officer is said to have been detained at the Umuobiakwa Police Division, while the body of the deceased was deposited at the mortuary of Christian Hospital, Nlagu in Obingwa LGA.
Abia State Commissioner of Police, Janet Agbede, could not be reached for her reaction, but a senior police officer in the state confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspect.
Meanwhile, the Abia State government has called for calm in the area and commended all the security agencies that ensured the arrest of the suspect.
Credit: The Sun