Awo – Omamma in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, was thrown in panic as an officer of the Imo Security Network allegedly shot dead one of his colleagues, Chidi Onyenekwu , at a burial ceremony in the community.
The Imo Security Network is a state – owned security formation established by the state governor, Rochas Okarche , during his first tenure in office.
It was learnt that the killing, which occurred on Wednesday, has become a topic too shocking to discuss publicly in the community.
The identity of the alleged killer had yet to be revealed by the authorities as of the time of filing this report.
Eyewitnesses said that the tragedy occurred when the suspect, now at large, was shooting sporadically into the air in a celebratory mood.
The security men had embarked on a peace- keeping mission when the tragedy occurred.
One of the sources said “It was simply a case of accidental discharge. The security agent forgot to return his trigger lock after shooting repeatedly in the air as part of the entertainment at the burial. Bullets hit his colleague in the chest as he lowered his gun. The victim died on the spot.”
Our correspondent gathered that the suspect immediately fled the area and had yet to return the pump -action rifle.
The death caused panic in the area, as people, especially sympathisers who were in attendance during the burial rites scampered to safety, abandoning the ceremony.
