Date Published: 09/25/11

One killed, journalist shot in Onitsha

Armed robbers on Saturday in Onitsha  shot to death an unidentified businessman, just as a journalist escaped death by the whiskers with gun shot wounds.

The journalist, Victor Sorokwu, South South Bureau Chief of the People Monthly Magazine, who is receiving treatment in a hospital in Onitsha, said the gunmen, riding on  okada, accosted a man on another okada assumed to be carrying money in a concealed bag.

He said that no sooner had they double-crossed the man than one of the assailants, who spotted him standing at the gate of a brewering company along Port Harcourt road, opened fire on him.

The journalist, who had bullets extracted from his left shoulder, called for increased police patrol in the city to combat  crimes as the yuletide approaches. He added that the rate at which people were being dispossessed of their hard earned resources in Onitsha was alarming and needed stringent proactive measures by the police.

An eyewitness recounted that the armed robbers, having discovered that the content of the  bag was not money, released some shots into the air  to scare  bystanders.

“When one of the traders rushed out and caught hold of one of the robbers,  shouting in a bid to attract people, some of the gang members who were lurking around, opened fire on the man and shot him continuously until his entire body was riddled with bullets,”he said.

“The man jumped on one of the robbers and the other members swiftly gunned him down. They kept shooting him until his bowels opened up.”

A police officer attached to the Feggea police station, who craved anonymity, said that the only man that died in the attack was a family man who is yet to be identified.

When contacted, the Anambra state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Emeka Chukwuemeka, said that he was yet to be  briefed on the matter.

Tribune