Sam Egburonu and Gbade Ogunwale report that the tragic death of Chima Amobi in Imo State, who was allegedly killed by soldiers, is the source of a brewing crisis as the matter has been taken to the army headquarters in Abuja and angry youths back home have sworn revenge
The gory homecoming of citizen Chima Amobi began with an absurd wild chase along Anara-Umuahia Express Road, followed by a fatal gun shot. Silence! When the front door of Amobi’s L300 bus was finally opened, the young man fell down on the red, sandy road, like a log of wood, dead, his brain shattered and blood everywhere. That was at the dawn of October 31, 2012.
Today, a month after the horrendous incident, community elders are still finding it difficult to contain angry youths in Nkumeato community in Imo State, who are itching to go on an endless rampage even as Amobi’s family has petitioned military headquarters in Abuja over the callous shooting to death of Amobi by some soldiers “for no justifiable reason.”
The family of Chief Andrew Anyaegbu Amobi of Nkumeato in Imo State, in their petition to the Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, demanded prompt prosecution of some soldiers (names withheld) from Obinze Military Barracks, who they alleged shot the young man. They also demanded payment of N600 million as compensation to the family.
In the petition, dated November 12, 2012, and copied to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, the General Officer Commanding the 82 Division, Enugu, the Commandant, Obinze Army Barracks, Owerri, and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, among others, the family, through their counsel, Theo Nwaigbo and co, pointed out that the victim, an HND holder in Business Administration and a father of five young children, had no criminal record before the tragic incident. They also said no arms or ammunition were found on him at the scene of the fatal shooting and therefore wondered why their son would be treated like a common criminal.
Narrating how Amobi was killed, Barrister Theo Nwaigbo, the Principal Counsel at the Theo Nwaigbo Legal Practitioners Chambers, said in the petition: “We were informed that on the 31st day of October, 2012, Mr. Chima Amobi drove his bus, L300, with registration No. XA 912 EHM along Anara-Umuahia Express Road, whereupon, about 7.40am, he was flagged down by a woman, accompanied by her young son. He stopped and picked them up.
“As he was about to drive off, some members of the transport union tried to stop him, but he drove off quickly and continued his journey. The leader of the union telephoned an army team on road block. The victim drove past the road block without being stopped by soldiers. It was only when he had passed the road block that the soldiers got the information based on the telephone call placed by the leader of the transport union and a pursuit ensued. The soldiers pursued him in their Hilux Van. On noticing that the soldiers were after him, the victim became afraid and decided to escape their pursuit.
“Along the way, he diverted in Court Road, Umuihi, within the precinct of Ihitte/Uboma LGA. With a quick divert, the soldiers drove to a parallel site from the main road and as the victim stuck out his head from the driver’s window to ascertain whether they were still pursuing him, the soldiers shot at him at a very close range. The impact of the bullet blew his brains off his head and heaped same meters away from the point of impact and he died instantly.”
Community leaders in the area, protesting youths, eyewitnesses, relations of the dead and the police have also narrated to The Nation how the killing was perpetrated.
One of them is Rev. Fr. Jeremiah Ofoegbu, the Priest of St. Calumba’s Catholic Church, Agbagharandu. He confirmed the killing, alleging that it was soldiers that shot Amobi.
Asked if he witnessed the shooting of the victim by the soldiers, he said, “No, I did not witness the actual shooting but I witnessed the incident when the DPO met with the soldiers at the scene of the killing, shortly after the shooting. The victim is my cousin. As at the time he was shot, I was in my parish, but immediately it happened news came to me and I rushed to the scene and saw his dead body, his brain scattered. Up till today, we have not seen one of his eyes.
“I was there until the DPO and some soldiers from the barrack came. By that time, angry youths had gathered, burning tires and ready to fight. When I introduced myself to the officers, they asked me to help calm down the youths. This I did, promising them we would handle the matter through legitimate means.”
Police awaiting autopsy
Mr. C. C. Onwumere, a Superintendent of Police and the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Etiti Police Division where the crime was perpetrated, also confirmed the incident and told The Nation that his men are however still awaiting autopsy results.
Asked if it was true that the victim was shot by soldiers from Obinze Barracks as alleged by the family or if it was an accident, he told The Nation in a telephone chat: “From physical observation, especially noting the way the victim’s brain was shattered, it is not likely that his death was caused by a simple automobile accident. Yes, the bus hit a pole before stopping but it was not badly damaged and the impact, it seems, could not have therefore shattered the man’s brains the way we saw it. Also, our men confirmed that at the time of the incident, the victim was with another person in the bus but that person was not injured that much. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed until the outcome of the autopsy result. We would need to confirm if indeed some metals are lodged in his head.”
On whether his men arrested the accused soldiers when the matter was reported to the Police, Onwumere said, “When the incident happened, an army lieutenant from Obinze Military Barracks took the accused soldiers to the barracks and said they were being interrogated by the military authorities over the ugly incident.”
What the Army said
Contacted for an official reaction to the allegation that citizen Amobi was murdered by soldiers from Obinze Barracks, Director of Army Information and Public Relations, Brig-General Mobolaji Koleoso, referred our correspondent to the Director of Legal Services of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Sunday Agha-Okoro.
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Agha-Okoro, however, said he was yet to be briefed on the matter, saying that the petition has not been brought to his table.
According to him, the petition would have been sent to his table if the office of the COAS had taken delivery of it. He stated that the said petition may still be in transit if it was sent by post.
General Okoro, however, pleaded for more time to enable him trace the petition, saying he had just returned to his desk from a weeklong official trip outside his duty post.
He added that there was no way the Army authorities would receive such petition and gloss over it, stressing that the COAS has never taken such matters lightly where infraction cases by soldiers had been established.
Gen Okoro said: “I would plead that you allow me enough time to cross check your information so that I can talk to you authoritatively on the matter. We are not aware of such case for now, apparently because the petition may still be in transit.
“But I want to assure you that the Chief of Army Staff has never taken cases of infraction by members of the Nigerian Army lightly and if a case of infraction is established in this particular case, I can assure you that the culprits will not go unpunished.”
As the police await the result of autopsy and the interrogation of the accused soldiers at Obinze Barracks, and the army headquarters scrutinise the petition from the deceased family, community leaders in Nkumeato and the surrounding communities are still battling to contain angry youths from taking the law into their hands.
