Tragedy struck on Saturday night in Igbo-Etche community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, as gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted a businessman identified as Sunny Onuenze, shooting a father of four children, Samuel Okere dead.
Although it is still unclear why Mr Samuel Okere was shot dead during the kidnapping operation, it appears he was hit by bullets, during the unfortunate incident.
Daily Independent gathered that the kidnapped businessman is a major dealer in scrap metals at the famous Mile three building material market, while the deceased, Mr Okere, was a generator mechanic who hails from Ofeh community in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wife of the deceased, Mrs Peace Ulaku Samuel, told newsmen that her husband was shot at the nearby street around 7pm.
She said her husband had gone out that night to get fresh air, when he met his untimely death.
Mrs. Samuel added that the corpse of her husband was found in a pool of his own blood in the nearby bush.
Narrating what transpired on that tragic night, Mrs. Samuel said: “He came back and I told him to pump water at about 7pm, as it was getting dark a little. After pumping water, he put off the generator. Without wearing clothes, he told me that he just wanted to walk around. He told one of the kids to put water for him in the bathroom.
“So it was not for up to five minutes that I heard a gunshot. I said what happened. Not even in our street, it was the next street. I heard another gunshot. I told my children let us enter inside, maybe your daddy is hiding wherever he is because of the gunshot, let us enter inside he will come back.
“So I started calling his line at that initial time, the line was ringing but nobody picked. More than six to seven times the phone was ringing without picking. My own thought was that he didn’t want to pick as he was hiding so that nobody will hear him.
“So later, I heard they kidnapped one of our neighbours. Later everybody started coming out, all the landlord. I came out again, I did not see my husband.
“So I started telling them I have not seen my husband, being the landlord, everybody said he will come back. So the woman who they kidnapped her husband was crying that they had kidnapped her husband.
“I was waiting for him with the kids. I stayed till past 12am. One landlord now called me that I should enter inside and that my husband will come back in the morning.
“So when I entered inside, it was not upto to one hour, I heard dog backing seriously, our neighbour’s dog, two of the dogs. I thought he is coming back, secondly I said who knows whether this man is still alive, whether they want to bring his corpse in his house and run away. I peeped through the window, if I will see my husband, but I did not see him and went back to the room.
“About past 5am I called my sister who is staying with me to wake up, that am I not comfortable that your daddy has not come back, lets go and look for your daddy.
Speaking further, she said, “So we started looking for him near our house, look around the house but we did not see him.The next plot of land there close to us, we now enter there, is not really bushy, they use it for farming, it was there that we now saw his corpse.That is how we saw the corpse.
“That night Igwuruta Police Division came and now noticed that, our side is under Etche division, they said is under Etche. I don’t know really if Etche Division came later”.
Our correspondent learnt that the incident was later reported to Umuebule Police Division in Igbo-Etche in charge of the area, as the corpse was taken to an undisclosed mortuary in Omuma Local Government Area of the state.
Our correspondent further learnt that the kidnappers had established contact with the family of the abducted businessman.
The Rivers State Police Command is yet to officially comment on the development.
