There was outrage in Onitsha the commercial city of Anambra State, on Monday, as vigilante operative allegedly shot one dead around Vin Oil Filling Station area of Onitsha, near Onitsha Enugu Expressway.
News Echo gathered that the victim whose name was yet to be known is from Onitsha and his killer also from Onitsha.
The alleged killer vigilante operative who is said to be indigene of Umuase village in Onitsha, Onitsha North Local Government Area, had allegedly killed somebody last year and was just released from prison not up to three months before he was alleged to have been recruited into a vigilante group in Onitsha.
According to source, the victim was said to be driving in a car along the service lane near Vin Oil Filling Station, with a girl and they were said to have been accosted by the vigilante operatives riding in a Siena car and in the process of questioning them, the lady with the victim was said to have taken to her heels on sighting the guns the vigilante operative were wielding.
It was said that an argument ensued between the victim and the vigilante operative and in the process one of the operatives, the one said to been recently release from prison shot him, killing him instantly.
The killing of the youth was said to have attracted people living in the areas and on identifying the victim as also from Onitsha, angry Onitsha youth became outraged, took his corpse, bearing palm fronds in the mouth as a mark of abomination and preceeded to Ime Obi Onitsha, to register their displeasure against the killing.
Another version of the story had it that a driver carrying goods and a lady were driving along Vin Oil Filling Station and were accosted by some vigilante operative who demanded for money from them and the driver gave them N500 but they rejected it and impounded the arrested the driver.
The driver was said to have called the owner of the goods to complain that the vigilante operative impounded his goods and that he will abandon the goods with them and the owner on hearing that was said to have quickly rushed to the scene and an argument ensued between him and vigilante operatives and in the process, the vigilante operative shot him and the driver dead, and release several shot into the air to scare people away before he vanished into thin air.
However efforts made to speak with the Police Area Commander in charge of Onitsha, Mr. John Obuagbaka, proved abortive as calls put through to his mobile phone was not picked, neither did he respond to text message sent to him in respect of incident as at the time of filing this report.
