Chaos erupted at the property of Senator Stella Oduah in Akili-Ozizor community, Ogbaru Local Government Area, following the fatal shooting of Noel Chinedu Okechukwu, a final year student of Fine and Applied Arts of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, by private security guards attached to the property.
The incident, which occurred on Saturday, August 17, sparked public outrage amid conflicting reports about the circumstances surrounding the student's death.
According to a petition sent to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ogbaru Police Division by the father of the deceased, Rex Peters Okechukwu, the student had gone to the estate to buy fresh fish from a pond located within the estate.
Mr Okechukwu, a journalist and pioneer secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Anambra State, said his son was denied entry by security guards leading to an altercation.
One of the guards allegedly shot Noel with a pump-action rifle.
The petition further stated that after shooting him, the guards tried to revive him by giving him water, but he died shortly afterwards. The guards then sent a motorcyclist to inform the family of their son's death.
Okechukwu demands justice against security guards,
In her petition, she said that even if her son had committed a crime, the appropriate response would have been to turn him over to the authorities, not execute him on the spot.
The father of the deceased stated in his petition that he and his family demand justice against the private guards because they had no right to take his life in such a barbaric manner.
He insisted that even if they considered that he had committed any crime in the vicinity of the estate or in the entire Ogbaru council area, the best option would have been to arrest him and hand him over to the police for prosecution and not to execute him extrajudicially.
However, the Atani Divisional Police Officer gave a different account.
The DPO, Mr I. Andrew, who spoke to reporters, stated that the deceased was involved in looting and vandalism of properties within the complex.
The DPO claimed that the area was a hotbed of activity by unknown gunmen and that Noel was part of an armed gang who opened fire on the guards. In return, the guards allegedly returned fire, resulting in Noel's death, while his accomplices fled the scene.
The DPO also expressed concern over the delay in reporting the incident, while questioning why the father only came forward to report the death on August 23, six days after the incident.
He said the case had been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Awkuzu for further investigation to ascertain the true circumstances surrounding the shooting.
