AN angry ‘mad’ man (name withheld) in the early hours of Saturday, was reported to have killed an Okada Rider, Mr. Elias Ofoke in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Capital.
The victim, a father of six children, hails from Agbaja Unuhu in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He left his family this morning in search of daily bread, only to lose his life in a controversial circumstance.
Reports revealed that members of Neighborhood Watch Security Outfit had early this morning tried to arrest the alleged mad man who resisted them.
The resistance led to the torturing of the mentally challenged person by some members of the security outfit.
After the torture, the victim was abandoned to the surprise of passerby who pleaded with them not to abandon him as such could endanger the lives of others within the environment.
Moments of the encounter, an innocent Okada man who dropped his passenger in the area, while trying to move his bike was suddenly beaten to death by the mad man who was yet to recover from the shock of the attack he received from the Neighbourhood Watch Security.
The ‘mad’ man out of anger over the torture he received, hit the Okada Rider on the head. This singular action led to the death of the motorcycle operator.
Members of Motorcycle Transport Union, Ebonyi State Chapter have been left speechless following the brutal killing of one of their members, Mr. Elias Ofoke, who was killed in the early hours of the day by the ‘mad’ man.
The incident occurred around Udensi bridge in Abakaliki.
Reacting, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Kpirikpiri Division, SP Chris Anyanwu who confirmed the incident advised members of Okada Union to still nose for background information concerning the incident as the police would carry out an in-depth into the matter.
Also, the State Chairman, Motorcycle Transport Union, Ebonyi State Chapter, Comrade Paulinus Atam, who frowned at the tragic incident explained that the Union has never recorded such case since his emergence as the chairman of the Association.
He called on the State Government to fish out mad men in Abakaliki metropolis in order to forestall such occurrence in the future, while consoling with the bereaved family and the entire members of the Union.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, on phone said that he has already been notified of the tragic incident.
“We had already called on the police to wade into the matter and ensure that the culprit be brought to book.”
The Commissioner also doubted the possibility of the alleged actions of the Neighbourhood Watch Security on the mad man adding that the security outfit who have been working for the safety of the people in the state could not unleash attack on a mad person and abandon such a person to endanger the lives of others on the streets.
A Nephew to the deceased, Mr. Opoke Innocent who identified his Late uncle as a married man with six children, called on the State Government to come to the aid of the deceased family as the demise of the victim has created a very big vacuum which needed the intervention of both the State Government and the Okada Union.
The corpse of the victim was later deposited to the FETHA 1 Mortuary,
Abakaliki, while the wounded ‘mad’ man was taken to the Police Clinic for medical evaluation and attention.
