Elder Agbai Isaac, the father of 24-year-old tailor, Solomon Isaac who was allegedly shot to death by men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Aba, has pleaded with relevant authorities to help get justice for his son.
In his plea, he called on the government, Abia State Commissioner of Police, Civil Society Organizations and other related groups, to assist in calling for the arrest and bringing to book, those behind the killing of his son.
Elder Isaac, said that Solomon was on his way back to his tailoring shop along Uratta Road, Aba, Abia State when NSCDC personnel chasing hoodlums, inadvertently pointed their guns and fired sporadically at their No 6, Obuda Street residence gate killing him.
He said, he was disturbed that after formally reporting the matter to the Uratta-Eziukwu Police Division, the authorities had not visited the scene of the incident but only blamed him for taking wounded Solomon to the hospital, where he was proclaimed dead.
According to him, the Uratta-Eziukwu Police Division said the matter was reported to them three hours before his arrival, but could not disclose who reported it to the officers on duty.
He said, “Police said the matter was already reported to them when we arrived at the station but did not tell us who did and the person’s interest in the killing.
“They blamed us for not bringing the boy first to the station before taking him to hospital.”
Speaking on increased criminal activities in the area, Isaac, said Uratta Road, was notorious for armed banditry, snatching of people’s belongings including handbags, cellphones, noting that bad roads and other environmental hazards in the area, provided a haven for youths engaging in crimes.
He appealed to the government, security agencies and non-governmental organisations, to bring pressure on the police in Uratta-Eziukwu, to commence investigations on the matter to unravel those involved and punish them according to the law.
Isaac’s younger brother, Sunny Agbai, who was at home at the time of the shooting on Friday, January 7th, said Solomon was shot, as he opened the gate and was leaving for his shop.
Agbai said he was taken to two hospitals for urgent treatment in a bid to save his life, while the police at the Aba Area Command who they had approached to report the incident referred them to the Uratta-Eziukwu Division.
The victim, he lamented, was later taken to the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) Hospital, in Ogbor-Hill, where Solomon was declared dead, and his body later got deposited in the mortuary.
Elder brother of the deceased, Chijioke Isaac, said he had gone to a nearby shop to buy detergent for laundry and was coming into the house when bullets began flying and subsequently hit his brother Solomon who fell into his hands, shouting “I have been shot.”
According to Chijioke, the gunshots were sporadic and variously directed towards their house fence and gate.
Abia Police spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, could not be reached for comment as his phone was not connecting.
