By Abiola Olawale
There is a wave of public outrage in the Akili-Ozizor community after Noel Chinedu Okechukwu, a final year Fine and Applied Arts student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) located in Igbariam, Anambra state, was allegedly shot and killed by private security guards attached to the Estate owned by Senator Stella Oduah, the Senator from Anambra North Senatorial District of Anambra State at the Senate.
The deceased father who is also a veteran journalist by name Rex Peters Okechukwu, raised an alarm, alleging that his son was unjustly murdered.
Okechukwu consequently filed a petition where he detailed how his son had allegedly gone to the Stella Oduah Estate to purchase fish from a pond within the grounds of the estate only to meet his untimely demise.
According to him, his son, upon reaching the gate, was allegedly denied entry by security guards. An argument ensued in the process.
According to the distraught father of Noel, his son explained to the security men on ground but the situation reportedly escalated into a heated argument, culminating in one of the guards allegedly firing his pump action rifle, hitting Noel and causing him to collapse.
The petitioner further alleged that the guards then attempted to revive Noel by giving him water, but he died shortly after.
The bereaved father is therefore demanding justice, arguing that his son was unjustly killed.
He said: “Even if they felt he had committed a crime, they should have arrested him and handed him over to the police,” he asserted in the petition.
However, in a different account, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Atani, Anambra state, one Mr Andrew, reportedly countered Okechukwu’s claims.
According to the Police, the late Noel was allegedly part of a gang of boys looting and vandalizing various items within the Stella Oduah Estate and its vicinity.
He further stated that the deceased and his alleged accomplices were reportedly armed guns and other dangerous weapons.
The late Noel was said to have allegedly fired at the security guards on duty, prompting a retaliatory response that led to Noel’s death.
The DPO claimed that the case file has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Annex, at Awkuzu, in Anambra State for further investigation.
It would be recalled that Stella Oduah was in the news in 2022/2023 when the Attorney General of the federation took over her case involving an alleged N5bn fraud which was filed against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Oduah was a minister of Aviation when the infraction was allegedly committed.
