Two vigilantes are accused of killing a 22-year-old man in the Mkpulogo community of Enugu State’s Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
Philip Okoro, the victim, was shot on June 29 and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Following the incident, police officers reacted by arresting the vigilantes for their roles in Okoro’s murder.
Daniel Ndukwe, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, identified the suspects as Annene Idu and Chijioke Ezugwu in a statement issued on Thursday, adding that a pump-action rifle had been recovered.
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The police also took his body to the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
While Idu is accused of shooting Okoro, Ezugwu is said to be the LGA’s Chief Security Officer, and he led vigilantes to the scene of the incident to arrest hard drug dealers.
According to a police spokesman, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Abuabar Lawal, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
He specifically directed the State Criminal Investigation Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Police to conduct a full-scale investigation into the alleged shooting.
“As a result, two members of the Vigilante Group have been arrested in connection with the victim’s shooting and murder.” They include Annene Idu (m), who is accused of shooting the deceased, and Chijioke Ezugwu (m), the L.G.A.’s Chief Security Officer, who is accused of leading the Vigilantes to the scene of the incident to arrest hard drug dealers. “The Pump Action used in the act has also been recovered,” he added.
“Meanwhile, an angry mob set fire to the house of the mentioned team leader in protest of the death of the said victim.” However, the fire was quickly extinguished by police officers who responded quickly to a distress call and arrived on the scene before the building burned down.”
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The police commissioner also urged residents to follow the law and avoid acts that could jeopardise public order in the area, while cooperating with the police in the ongoing investigation.
