Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have killed a United Kingdom-bound Nigerian, Wisdom Chukwumerem in Imo State.
NIGERIACRIME gathered that the 30-year-old was shot three times in his chest by armed robbers at the World Bank junction roundabout in Owerri.
Wisdom, a father of two, hailed from Awo Ommamma in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State
He was said to be withdrawing money from a Point Of Sale operator when his killers struck.
Speaking on the incident, the immediate elder brother of the deceased, Shedrack lamented the killing of his younger brother.
Shedrack said the robbers accused the deceased of calling policemen on them before opening fire to kill him even after he appealed to them.
The businessman said that his brother was pronounced dead at the Umuguma Specialists General Hospital where policemen took him.
Shedrack, who said his brother returned to Nigeria three years ago, said he got the distress call from his brother’s wife on August 10 around 8 pm.
His words, “So I drove straight to Owerri that same night and I was directed by the Policemen there to come to the Imo State specialist hospital and when I got there I saw my brother’s lifeless body and policemen were present there.
“He was married with two kids, all girls. He would have been 30 years on November 27. He ought to be traveling back to the UK by the first week of September before he was shot dead. So, the policemen told me that there was an armed robbery attack at the Umuguma roundabout at a POS stand and my brother was there to withdraw money eventually he was shot because they noticed he was on call and the robbers thought that he was trying to call the police against them.
“And he was shot in the left side of his chest. So I deposited his body at the morgue that same night. The policemen took the tally and told me to report the next day. He was my immediate younger brother. I’m 32 years old. He would have been 30 on 27 November.
“Now I have been compelled by the police at Umuguma Division to open a case file and I told them that I don’t want any case and I’m not interested in any case. They told me to open it even if I don’t want any case which I did.
“I went with them to the scene of the incident. It happened between 8 and 8:30 pm precisely. I have gone to the scene of the incident with the policemen and gone to the mortuary. They took pictures which I paid for. They told me to go to court and swear an affidavit which I did.
“The policemen at Umuguma Division transferred the matter to the homicide section of the State CID in Owerri which I did with money all in a quest to release my brother’s corpse for burial.
“And I was pushed to contact a lawyer. With the help of the lawyer, I have written an application to the CP for withdrawal of the case. The policemen are with the application which I submitted last week.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said that the withdrawal of the case and the family’s request for the police to allow them to bury their son do not in any way affect the investigation process.
He said that the police would continue with their investigation and once the suspects are arrested, they would be arraigned for murder.
“The withdrawal of the matter by the family doesn’t affect the police investigation. We will continue with the investigation. Once the fleeing suspects are caught, they would be arraigned for murder,” Okoye explained.