Imo: Irate youths set houses on fire over killing of colleague

Rampaging youths have set fire to houses, motorcycles, household equipment, and wares worth several million Naira in the Okwu Uratta community in the Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

This followed the killing of a youth in the area identified as Friday Njoku, allegedly by members of the vigilante group operating in the community.

An indigene of the community, who spoke to our correspondent anonymously, said that the youths accused the leader of the vigilante group, Emmanuel Abakporo, an officer of the state command of the Nigeria Correctional Service, of supervising Njoku’s killing.

Angered by his death, the youths stormed his house. Upon finding him absent, they beat his son severely and set his wife’s shop ablaze. They then returned to his house, burning it along with his car, motorcycles, and household equipment.

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The source stated, “Our community is on fire. The youths are rampaging because a young man named Friday Njoku was killed on Sunday, and his body was dumped here. People saw that it was the security personnel in the community who shot him dead.”

He mentioned that this gruesome act led to the regrouping of the youths, who immediately stormed the house of the security leader but found him absent. They then beat his son severely and destroyed everything in his wife’s shop before returning to set his house ablaze.

He further stated that policemen have arrived in the area and are doing everything possible to restore normalcy.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, ASP Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident. He said that the state Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Aboki, had sent men to the scene for a rescue mission. He also disclosed that firefighters had been drafted in to extinguish the inferno.

Okoye added that an investigation into the incident had been launched by the command with the aim of bringing the offenders to justice.