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18-yr-SS3 boy murdered by classmates
From GODDY OSUJI ABAKALIKI
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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The victim
Photo: The Sun Publishing |
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The brutal murder of an 18-year-old boy, David Unya, an only male
child of a widow by his classmates has brought untold sorrow not
only to the mother Mrs. Happiness Eni but also the only elder sister,
Miss Ogadinma Unya.
The pathetic story of the SS3 student of Ugwuegu Community Secondary
School, Afikpo began when at the age of three David lost his father
and his uncles dispossessed them of their father’s property
and drove them away with their mother who found solace in her sister’s
family home at Ngodo, Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi
State.
It was there that young David grew up with his elder sister, Ogadinma
and integrated into the family. On the fateful day of June 18, 2009
according to his cousin, Nwosu James Ogbonna who narrated the incident
to Daily Sun, he saw David at about 6 pm. washing
his school uniform after writing his NECO English papers for the
day preparatory for the next day’s paper when at about 7 pm
the compound was invaded by four killer boys among them a close
friend of David and class prefect of his school identified simply
as Kingsley in company of three other boys he recruited to carry
out the attack that took David’s life.
Ogbonna recounted the incident further: “My cousin David Unya
came back from school on the 18th June 2009 around 6 pm, I saw him
washing his clothes when I came back from where I usually stay with
my sister at the market. I asked him why he was washing his school
uniforms at that late hour, will it dry before the next day for
use and after that I left and, entered the room. Around 7 pm I left
the house to watch one of the Confederation matches and it was a
match between Egypt and Italy.
“While the match was on I received a phone call in distress
voice that said that David is dead. I rushed out with electric speed
and as I was hurrying to the house, at Afikpo Medical Centre that
was on my way I saw a crowd gathered as I hurriedly walked past
some of the people gathered most of whom are my tenants saw me and
started consoling me with the hope that I knew what happened . It
was then that I was directed inside the hospital where I saw David
lying lifeless with the nurses busy removing the needle they used
in giving him drip after confirming that he was dead. I became mad
and wept. And when people took me to the house where I was told
how the boys came looking for my cousin who at that point in time
was lying on the veranda sleeping, but because it was dark they
could not recognize him so the school prefect walked straight to
his room knocked and it was the sister that opened the door and
was confronted by Kingsley who was then panting.
“The sister asked him what’s the matter but he only
asked about the whereabouts of David. It was when David heard the
voice of his sister that he woke up to confront those killers who
rushed at him but he ran outside to escape into a neighbour’s
compound that was fenced round where they caught up with him and
beat him to death.
David’s body was left lying in his own blood when some of
his relations pursued and caught one of the killers. They wanted
to pass jungle judgment on him and while they were waiting to hear
the state of David’s condition who was by then rushed to the
medical centre before taking laws into their hands the police arrived
and whisked away one of the killers.
It was the arrested boy that gave out the names of the other three
boys that escaped based on which the police in collaboration with
the some youths mounted a manhunt for the killers. In an attempt
to help the police arrest these bad boys I shared my number and
bought recharge cards which I distributed to some boys and that
made it possible for the arrest of the ring leader Kingsley who
was to be ferreted to Aba one early morning when a call came to
me but their plan was aborted and he (Kingsley) was later surrendered
to the traditional ruler where he was arrested by the police.
But in handing over the killer to the police the traditional ruler
of Ugwuagu community asked the police to release relations of the
killer boys who were arrested which I protested because the traditional
ruler as a law abiding citizen and chief security of the community
where the boys came from should ensure that those bad boys who murdered
my cousin in cold blood were surrendered to the police for appropriate
justice to be meted out even when from their statements to the police
Kingsley denied being the actual person that hit him with a bottle
that killed David. He said one of the boys he recruited to help
him plead with David to return his wallet and phone having had an
encounter with him in the school where some boys fought him and
he lost his cell phone and wallet and David was among those that
fought him. The boy that was first arrested also denied being the
person that gave David the knock that took his life.
Ogbonna expressed fears that with the way things are going at the
Afikpo Divisional Police station and for the fact that he is from
a poor family and an unemployed graduate relations of the boys could
influence their release and make them walk away free without facing
the law. He wondered why the case of murder should still be handled
by a divisional police station instead of the state CID.
He called for the intervention of the Inspector General of Police
Mr. Mike Okiro to ensure that justice is done.
When Daily Sun contacted the Police Public Relations
Officer, ASP, Chris Anyanwu, said that the matter had not come to
his knowledge.
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