Crime
Breaking: Outrage as Ebubeagu Security outfit kills seven guests, ducts five returning from wedding in Imo
There was massive outrage in Imo State Monday following the cold-blooded killing of guests returning from a traditional wedding ceremony in the state.
No fewer than seven young men were shot and killed by persons suspected to be operatives of the Imo Vigilant group known as the Ebubeagu Security outfit without provocation.
The gruesome episode, which happened Sunday night in Awomamma in Oru West, witnessed the killing of youths of Otulu community in neighbouring Oru East LGA who had accompanied their kinsman to his traditional wedding in Awomama, with five other young men still missing as at the time of filing in this report.
The incident has further heightened the tension in the Orlu axis of the state where the Ebubeagu outfit has been severally accused of serial acts of impunity and extrajudicial killings.
The President General of Otulu Community, Nnamdi Agbor, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone, said that seven young men were shot and killed Sunday night by the Ebubeagu operatives.
His words: “Youths from our community in Otulu had on Sunday accompanied one of our brothers to Awomamma for his traditional wedding rites, at the end of the event, many of the youths who came on motorcycles offered to carry their brothers and they all rode back in a convoy of motorcycles.
“On their way home, around the Ishieke area of Awomamma, without any conversation or confrontation, the Ebubeagu operatives opened fire on the convoy of motorcycles killing seven persons on the spot. While they abducted some of the wedding guests some others escaped into the bush in a desperate flight for safety.
“By Monday morning, we mobilised a search party, accompanied by an Army patrol team and we returned to the scene of attack and received seven dead bodies of our sons with five others still missing with several others nursing bullet wounds. As I speak to you, we are yet to be told the crime committed by our sons for which they were slaughtered like animals.”
Those killed whose bodies were recovered include Chigozie Obinwa, Chikere Anyadioha, Ifechi Ekesinachi, Emeka Ekesinachi, Aboy Ihegboro and two others simply identified as Chijindu and Ozioma.
The President-General stressed that tension in the Otulu community has reached feverish pitch and they are battling to contain agitations of angry youths.
