Kenneth Ofoma, ENUGU
Sunday's shooting of nine people, with five dead on the spot, by a policeman suspected to be suffering from mental illness, has continued to send shock waves across Enugu, Enugu State.
While some of the
victims were those living or working in the compound where the policeman was
guarding, others were passers-by and neighbours who were merely at the wrong
place at the wrong time. The incident occurred at Golf Estate, GRA, Enugu.
The police inspector
is attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 9, Umuahia, Abia State.
The inspector, said to be on a special duty in Enugu State, allegedly started
shooting sporadically, killing and inflicting injuries on people.
The policeman is
believed to be guarding the residence of the boss of RC Loto firm, who was said
to have travelled at the time of the incident.
The police officer,
sources said, was a psychiatric patient, who was treated for mental illness
some time ago. The sources disclosed that it was not clear what triggered a
relapse, leading to him embarking on the shooting and killing spree.
Wife of one of the
victims, Mrs. Oluchi Orji, whose husband, Orji, was killed by the policeman,
said she travelled on Friday for a burial, but was called by neighbours
prompting her to return home on Sunday evening.
Oluchi said she was
told by a witness that her husband was in the house, which shares a common
fence with the compound where the policeman was guarding, when everyone heard
sporadic gunshots. When the gunshots suddenly stopped as it had started, her
husband went out to buy detergent in order to wash their children’s clothes.
She said: “He was on
his way back when he saw the policeman. He innocently asked the policeman the
cause of the shooting in the next building, but the policeman just opened fire
on him. My husband started running, holding his wounded stomach, desperately
trying to prevent his intestines from gushing out. The policeman continued
releasing more shots on him until he slumped and died.”
Another witness said
that another female passer-by suffered the same fate. The lady was shot dead by
the policeman along the street when she innocently asked him about the shooting
in the compound he was guarding. This was happening after the policeman had
killed those inside the compound he was guarding.
The Enugu State
Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, later visited the injured at the Enugu State
University Hospital (ESUTH) Parklane, Enugu, where they were receiving
treatment. The governor expressed shock over the dastardly act.
Ugwuanyi was received
at the hospital by the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ndatsu Aliyu, and the
Chief Medical Director, ESUTH, Prof. Hycient Onah.
The state Commissioner
for Information, Chidi Aroh, said the governor empathised with the victims and
wished them quick recovery. He also condoled with the families of the
deceased.
Ugwuanyi announced
that the state government would pay all the medical expenses, and would also
deposit some money with the hospital to ensure that all that was required to
treat the patients would be provided.
The governor charged
the hospital’s management to ensure that the victims receive adequate medical
attention.
Also, the state Police
Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed in a statement
that the police officer had been arrested and taken into custody pending the
conclusion of investigation.
He said: “Four of the
people said to have sustained gunshot injuries were receiving treatment, while
others, whose injuries were critical, have been confirmed dead by doctors on
duty and deposited in the mortuary, awaiting autopsy.”
Ndukwe added that the
Commissioner, Aliyu, had ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP),
in-charge of the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department
(SCIID), to carry out a thorough investigation to unravel the circumstances
surrounding the shooting and killing.
Aliyu also called on
witnesses, “to volunteer useful information to aid swift conclusion of the
investigation and ensure justice prevails”.
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