The family of a 22-year-old painter, Chinemerem Orji, has called for justice after he was allegedly shot dead by a local vigilante in Umebele, Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Saturday.
The
deceased’s elder sister, Kelechi, who spoke to Punch correspondent on Monday,
said her brother had gone to a Point of Sale terminal operator to withdraw
money sent to him, adding that trouble started when he discovered that one of
the notes given to him was a counterfeit.
Kelechi said
during the ensuing argument, the PoS operator called members of the Oyigbo
Security Peace Advisory Committee, who on arrival, compounded the situation and
tried to drag his brother to their office near a police station and stabbed him
with a dagger.
She stated,
“My brother was with his girlfriend, who said she didn’t have any money, but
needed cash to go out. So, he called his friend to send N1,500 to his account,
which was done. He went to the PoS operator to withdraw the money. After
withdrawing the money, he found out that the N1,000 note was counterfeit. So,
he went back and asked the PoS operator to change it, but he refused.
“As they were
arguing, the PoS operator called the OSPAC vigilantes. They came and tried to
force my brother to mount their motorcycle.
“They were
dragging him to follow them to their office, but he said he wasn’t going with
them, because he didn’t commit any crime. He was just asking the guy to change
the money for him.”
She added,
“The other members came and dragged him and in the process, one of them brought
out a dagger and stabbed him in his two hands and body. One of them, who was on
a motorcycle, disembarked and shot my brother in the back.
“They took
his body to their office and called me on the phone. Already, my mum had gone
to the police station, because she didn’t know the OSPAC office.
“When she
came back, I was already at home. So, I went to the police station.”
Kelechi said
while at the station, a female cop asked her if the station was a hospital.
She stated,
“I finally traced the OSPAC office, but I couldn’t go in because the place was
not looking safe. So, I called my mum to come. I thought that when they see her
they would allow us to see Chinemerem, but they chased us away.
“All of a
sudden, the OSPAC guys started coming out from their office one after another
and started chasing us that we should leave the street. They started
threatening us with guns. While we were there, an ambulance came to their
office.
“My mum, my
brother’s girlfriend and I refused to go. One of them came and shot in the
ground. I dragged my mum and we ran. Some people, who saw what happened, came
to hold my mum. We were there when the ambulance took the body out. Up till
now, we have not seen his corpse.”
Asked what
they were told at the police station in Oyigbo, she said, “They didn’t even
tell us anything reasonable. They only told us to come back the following day.
We are asking for justice. I want to see my brother’s corpse and let them
identify the man, who shot him and make him to face the law. We want help from
the government and the public.”
When
contacted, the spokesman for the state police command, Nnamdi Omoni, said he
had yet to get the report of the incident, but promised, “I will find out from
the Divisional Police Officer and get back to you.”
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