A yet-to-be-identified member of the Abia State Vigilante Group has been accused of shooting a 27-year-old worker of an eatery, Izuchukwu Mbakwe, to death in Umuahia, the state capital.
It was gathered that the deceased, who was shot at a close range in his lap on Sunday, died as a result of the injuries he sustained during the attack.
Mbakwe, a native of Umuosu Okaiuga Nkwoegwu community in the Umuahia North Local Government Area, was said to have arrived for his normal duties at the eatery when the internal auditor of the company, while searching for a missing Nokia Torch phone belonging to the company, invited members of the vigilante group and demanded his arrest.
While carrying out the order, it was learnt that the overzealous guards stripped Mbakwe of his cloth and beat him to a stupor.
Thereafter, one of the vigilantes brought out a pump action rifle and allegedly shot Mbakwe’s lap, and the bullet ruptured his femoral artery.
Our correspondent gathered that after shooting Mbakwe, the vigilantes made an attempt to abandon him at the scene but customers who witnessed the incident protested against the action.
Mbakwe was later rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia for treatment where he died and his corpse deposited in the morgue.
A colleague, while speaking to our correspondent on condition of anonymity to avoid putting his job on the line, said the company owed its workers five months’ salary arrears.
The deceased’s elder sister, Adaora, also confirmed that her brother told her he had not been paid for five months, adding that the company was yet to communicate with the family.
While demanding justice for her brother, Adaora said bleed to death as a result of the injuries he sustained during the attack.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident when contacted for a reaction.
While faulting the action of the vigilantes, Ogbonna said Mbakwe should have been handed over to the police for investigation, adding that the suspect had been apprehended and his firearm recovered.