In Ohokobe Ndume, a community in Umuahia, Abia State, the family home of murder suspect, Stephen Irobunda has been demolished.
Youths from the community on Tuesday demolished the house in retaliation for the death of Bright Odizuru, their maternal relative, who was allegedly shot by Stephen Irobunda.
The 70-year-old suspect reportedly shot Odizuru on Saturday, accusing him of playing football in front of his house.
Irobunda is currently detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
When journalists reached the scene around 10 a.m., the building had already been demolished, and belongings of the murder suspect scattered along the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road.
Youths from the community, driven by anger over the recent killing of Bright Odizuru, undertook the demolition as an act of retaliation.
Some of them were seen beating the community gong in a display of unity and mourning, while others gathered in groups, voicing their grief and frustration over the victim’s death.
The atmosphere was charged with sorrow and solidarity as the community came together to express their pain over the tragedy.
Our correspondent had gathered that due to movement restrictions imposed by the state government for Saturday’s local government election, some youths began playing football near the man’s house. They ignored repeated warnings from the 70-year-old to stop.
It was reported that the man fired shots into the air to scare off the youths. Although they initially fled, they soon regrouped and returned to Irobunda’s house to confront him about his attempts to intimidate them with gunfire.
The alleged killer went into his house, grabbed his dane gun, and fired at the group. Young Bright, was shot in the abdomen, resulting in his death at a hospital
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Maureen Chinaka, reported that, based on information received at the Ehimiri Police Station, police intervened to rescue the suspect from a mob that was about to lynch him.
She added that the police have documented this incident, the crime scene has been examined, and an investigation is currently ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department.
