Killing of 22-year-old sets Enugu community on fire

All is not well with Nkpologwu community in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, following the killing of a 22-year-old boy by a vigilante group in the area.

It was gathered that the members of the vigilante stormed the residence of the deceased on Wednesday night to effect an arrest, following a disagreement relating to land skirmishes within the community market.

The victim was said to have resisted arrest and was shot in his waist while trying to run away; he died Thursday night.

According to an eyewitness, the news of the boy’s death angered the youths, who went on a rampage, burning down houses belonging to the members of the vigilante.

“We’re currently living in fear because we don’t know what would happen next and we’re helpless,” the eyewitness, who gave his name simply as Ifeanyi, said.

He continued: “As I speak with you, the house of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of our local government, Barr. Chijioke Enugu has been completely burnt down.

“The house of another businessman, Anthony Ani, was torched and this arson is spreading by the day. We call on the relevant authorities to rise up and save our agrarian community before the situation goes out of hand.”

Another source said that the victim was accused of selling methamphetamine popularly known as Mkpurumiri and when the vigilante went to arrest him, he resisted and attempted to run away, which led to the shooting.

It was gathered that the leader of the vigilante and his members, have been arrested and are currently in cooling in police custody.

All efforts to reach the Council Chairman, Celestine Chukwudi Nnadozie for comments failed as he didn’t answer his calls or respond to the message sent to his mobile phone number.

Meanwhile, the Enugu Police Command yesterday, confirmed the arrest of two members of the vigilante group directly involved in the killing of the young man.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, gave the names of those arrested as Annenedu Idu and Chijioke Ezeugwu.

e said normalcy had been restored and that the fire on the buildings had been quenched.