The killing of of a final year Fine and Applied Arts student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State, Noel Okechukwu has become a subject of controversy.
Noel was killed by vigilantes at the Senator Stella Oduah’s Estate, Akili-Ozizor community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State on August 17.
The grounds for his killing in the estate by local vigilante attached to the place was allegation that the 27-year-old was into looting and vandalising properties in the estate.
According to report in circulation, the vigilantes shot him to death, but his family is in disagreement with the claim that he was a thief.
Instead, his father, a former Secretary of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra State council, Rex Okechukwu, said his murdered son was in the estate to buy fresh fish when he was killed.
The senior Okechukwu expressed this in a petition to the police where he accused the vigilantes of unjustly killing his son and is demanding justice.
“On getting to the gate leading to the entrance of the estate, the private security guards disallowed him entrance and an altercation ensued between the guards and himself leading to one of the guards pulling the trigger of his pump action rifle and pumping bullets into his body which made him to slump.
“Soon after gunning him down, the guards started giving him water to drink and as soon as he took some quantities of the water, he gave up the ghost and the guards sent a motorcyclist who rushed to inform the bereaved family of the unfortunate incident.
“We, as the family members, are demanding justice against the private guards because they had no right to take the life of our son in such a brutish manner,” the petition read in part.
