Irate youths in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State have set houses and shops ablaze, over alleged killing of a youth of the area, identified as Friday Njoku by vigilante group members operating in the community.
A community source, who spoke to DAILYPOST under condition of anonymity, claimed that the aggrieved youths had accused Emmanuel Abakporo, an official of the state command of the Nigeria Correctional Service and the leader of the vigilante group, of overseeing Njoku’s murder.
Enraged by his death, the young people on Tuesday broke into his home, beat his kid until he fainted, then proceeded to his wife’s store and burned it on fire.
“After returning, they set fire to his home, along with his automobile, motorcycles, and domestic appliances.
According to the source, “Our community is on fire. The young people are raging. On Sunday, Friday Njoku, a young man, was killed, and his body was placed there. People witnessed that he had been shot to death by the community’s security personnel.
“The teens organized and assaulted the security men’s leader’s home on Tuesday morning, but he wasn’t there. They went to his wife’s shop and destroyed everything after beating his son into a coma. They went back to his place and started a fire in it.
“As I speak with you, police are on the scene and are making every effort to get things back to normal. ”
When contacted, Henry Okoye, the state police command spokesperson, stated that men had been dispatched to the scene as part of a rescue operation by state commissioner of police Danjuma Aboki.
He said he learned that firefighters had been sent in to put out the fire.
According to Okoye, the command has started an inquiry into what had happened in order to apprehend the perpetrators.
