From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Aggrieved students of Urban Development Secondary School, located at Area N, World Bank Area of Owerri, Imo State, took to the streets at the weekend to protest the killing of one of their own, Paul Victor.
Victor, a 16-year-old JSS 3 student, died on Thursday at the Imo State Specialist Hospital in Umuguma, Owerri, where he was rushed on Monday following gunshot injuries he sustained when he was shot by Donald Mbamah while trying to retrieve a football he was playing with his mates at the school on Monday.
The security man at the school, Elisha Ogbu, told Daily Sun on Friday that a lawyer, Donald Mbamah, who shares a boundary with the school, allegedly shot the deceased on Monday while he was playing football with his mates on the school compound.
The security man said, “the deceased was playing football with his mates and their football fell into a neighbor’s compound. The boy climbed on top of the fence of the school and from their he was begging the man to please give him the ball.
“Instead of the man to give the boy the ball so that the children will continue their football training ahead of their inter house sports football final match next Thursday, the man went inside his house and brought out a gun. On seeing the gun, the boy turned but the man shot him two times in his buttocks.
“You can see the blood stains here. The boy was rushed to a hospital and he died on Thursday. The man has been threatening students, teachers and principal of the school. He never releases any ball that went into his compound.”
On learning that their mate had died, the students on Friday grouped together, went to the man’s house, and vandalised it.
They also went to the suspect’s school, known as Per Excellence School, and vandalised it.
They vandalised no fewer than three vehicles, said to belong to the suspect, that were parked in his compound and on his school premises.
It took the combined efforts of policemen drafted from Umuguma and New Owerri Divisional Headquarters, Department of State Services (DSS) personnel, and youths in the neighbourhood to stop the irate students from further destruction.
On arrival, our correspondent saw policemen, DSS operatives, and youths guarding the properties from further attack.
The school management also had to direct the students to go home and resume on Monday.
The Area Commander of Owerri Metro Area Command, Mike (ACP), pleaded with the people that two wrongs do not make a right.
He ordered that there should be no further destruction as the suspect was already in police custody.
The youth leader of New Owerri, Kenneth Ozioma, was seen working assiduously to ensure that the situation was brought under control.
He said that as a neighbourhood, they tried to ensure that the schoolboy survived, but it was unfortunate that he died three days later.