Unidentified gunmen in Imo State have killed the Deputy Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic, Uwana, Ebonyi State, Innocent Obi.
The Nation reports that Obi was killed in Ezeala/Ezike Autonomous Community in Umuezeala, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state, by gunmen acting under the guise of Biafra agitators.
The deceased, popularly known as Onye Army by the villagers, was said to have retired from the army before joining the army at the Federal Polytechnic, Uwana. He was also said to have applied to become the organization's next subscriber before his untimely death.
According to village sources, he returned to his Umuoboama village to bury a relative who was killed in the Northeast as a soldier when he was kidnapped and killed.
It was further learned that soon after Obi returned to his family home in the village after the funeral last weekend, hoodlums over six years old invaded his house around 10 p.m. The attackers are believed to have been operating in military and police uniforms. “They broke down the main door and started using machetes and axes against him.
“His cries for help attracted villagers to the scene, but the boys on three motorbikes started shooting into the air repeatedly. “The shooting forced all those who came to help him to turn back. And they eliminated Dee Onye's army that Friday night, leaving significant bloodstains in the house,” said a villager.
The source added that villagers convened a search party for him the following Saturday. “On Sunday afternoon, we received information about a decomposing body lying between Ehime Mbano and Ahiazu Mbaise.
“When our personnel arrived at the scene that Sunday, we encountered the dead body of our brother, Trooper Dee Onye. “They slaughtered him so horribly that he was unrecognizable.
“Dee Onye Army is the one who ensures that all young people who want to go to school are admitted. Many young people were admitted to his school. He never lived like a rich person, always humble.
“Actually, he has now started building his own house in the village and the building was only at the terrace stage before he passed away,” said the villager.