Joseph Uja, 62, was reportedly killed in Enugu Ezike by some soldiers who were enforcing a curfew that had been imposed on two local government areas of Enugu State.
The Igbo-Eze North LGA, one of the councils subject to the curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., includes Enugu-Ezike. The Igbo-Eze South council is the second.
PUNCH According to information obtained by Metro on Sunday, the killing raised anxiety in the Ogurute, Enugu-Ezike town, as residents feared retaliation from the local youths.
A resident, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told our correspondent on Sunday that the soldiers mistakenly shot the victim while he passed their checkpoint.
Uja was reportedly returning from Nsukka, where he went to buy electrical materials for his customers when the incident happened.
The resident said, “Joseph Uja was killed by soldiers who were trying to deflate somebody’s tyres yesterday. Uja was from Igogoro, Enugu Ezike, Igboeze North LGA.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the Nigerian Army were unsuccessful, as neither the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, nor the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Col. Abubakar Abdullahi, responded to calls or text messages from our correspondent.
Also, when the state police spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, was contacted on the telephone, he did not take his calls.
