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Tragedy struck in Igbo-Etche, Etche Local Government Area in Rivers State, on Saturday night, October 26, 2024, as gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted a businessman, Sunny Onuenze, and shot dead a father of four, Samuel Okere.
The incident occurred at an estate in the Army Range axis, leaving residents in shock.
According to sources, Onuenze, a scrap metal dealer at the Mile Building Material Market, was taken away by the gunmen, while Okere, a generator mechanic from Ofeh community in Omuma Local Government Area, was fatally shot.
Mrs. Peace Ulaku Samuel, the wife of the deceased, recounted that Okere had stepped out of their home around 7 p.m. to take a walk after pumping water. Moments later, she heard gunshots and assumed her husband was hiding. When she couldn’t reach him by phone, she raised the alarm.
She explained: “He came back, and I told him to pump water at about 7 p.m., it was getting a bit dark. After pumping water, he turned off the generator. Without wearing clothes, he told me he would take a walk. He asked one of the kids to prepare water for him in the bathroom, saying he would be back soon.
“Not up to five minutes later, I heard a gunshot. I wondered what had happened. It wasn’t even on our street but the next one. Then I heard another gunshot. I told my children to come inside; I thought their father was hiding somewhere because of the gunshots. I believed he would come back.
“I started calling his phone, and at first, it was ringing, but no one answered. I called more than six or seven times, but no one picked up. I thought he didn’t want to answer to avoid being heard while in hiding.
“Later, I heard that our neighbour had been kidnapped. As people started coming out, including the landlords, I also came out but didn’t see my husband. I told them I hadn’t seen him, and they assured me he would return. Meanwhile, the wife of the kidnapped man was crying.
“I waited with the kids until past midnight. One of the landlords advised me to go inside, saying my husband would return by morning.
“Not long after I went inside, I heard the neighbour’s dogs barking furiously. I thought maybe my husband had returned, or worse, that his corpse had been dropped off at the house. I peeped through the window, but I didn’t see him. I went back to the room.
“By 5 a.m., I told my sister, who lives with me, that I wasn’t comfortable. I said, ‘Your daddy hasn’t returned; let’s go and search for him.’
“We searched around the house but didn’t find him. In the next plot, which is farmland, we found his corpse.”
That night, officers from Igwuruta Police Division arrived but said the area was under the jurisdiction of Etche Division. It is unclear if officers from Etche Division later arrived.
Mrs. Peace lamented: “If it’s possible to find those responsible for his death, we should, because I can’t raise four kids alone.”
The incident was reported to the Umuebule Police Division in Igbo-Etche, which took the deceased’s body to an undisclosed mortuary in Omuma LGA.
As of press time, the Rivers State Police Command had not responded to inquiries regarding the incident.
It was gathered that the suspected kidnappers had made contact with the family of the abducted businessman, Mr. Sunny Onuenze.