A native of Umuikpa, Akanu Item in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, Mr Isaac Maduka, has cried out for justice over the gruesome killing of his 20-year-old son, Ndukwe Isaac, by angry youths of the community.
The deceased’s father told PUNCH Metro that the ugly incident which occurred on January 28 has brought untold pain and anguish to his family.
Maduka stated that his deceased son was living with his mother, Uwaezuo Isaac, at Okai Bende where they engaged in yam and rice cultivation, a thriving business managed by both, where he asked for some money from his mother to buy some clothes and shoes.
He added that Ndukwe’s mother refused to give him the money prompting him to take N110,000 from where his mother kept it.
He said, “My son had begged his mother that he needed to buy some clothes and shoes to be like his mates but his mother denied him that which prompted him to take the sum of N110,000 from where his mother hid it.
“The late Isaac Ndukwe, my son, admitted to his mother that he bought clothes, a radio and electrical wiring materials for his room from the N110,000 with N75,000 balance remaining.
“One of the mother’s brothers, Anyim Igwe, took the young boy accused of theft to the youths of the village. A certain Ndukwe Igara immediately called the traditional of the community, HRH Eze James Opara Ogbonna, the Ezeugo 1 of Okai Item Autonomous Community, on the phone who then instructed the youths to handle the matter.
“The youths tied both my son’s hands and legs and kept him on the road, beat him up and tortured him to death after which I was called and told that my son was dead and needed to be buried.”
He said he went there and told them not to bury him but rather put the young man in the mortuary because he was killed in a gruesome and brutal manner.
When the ambulance arrived to take the boy’s corpse to the mortuary, the Prime Minister of the community, Prophet Igwe Kalu, threatened to burn the ambulance if it stepped an inch.
“The traditional of the community therefore used his power to order that the boy should be buried in a specified site with the youths jubilating on the announcement.
“When the matter got out of hand, I was advised to involve the government and by 6 pm on that same January 28, I reported the matter to the Igbere Police Station.”
The deceased’s father said after narrating the incident that led to the unjust killing of his son, the case was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Umuahia, after the deceased’s mother, who he was living with before his demise, made a late entry when they tried to arrest her.
According to him, “The police invited everyone involved in the case but only the traditional ruler honoured the invitation while others like Anyim Igwe, the mother’s brother, who reported the theft incident to the youths of the village and one Ndukwe Igara, who made the call to the king, all failed to appear.”
He therefore called on the state government to intervene in this case to bring justice to his late son and also help secure his life amid the numerous threats he’s facing.
When our correspondent contacted the state PPRO, ASP Maureen Chilaka, over the phone about the incident on Monday, she advised Maduka to formally report to the police the threats to his life.
“Let him report to the police the threats to his life,” she replied.
