A local vigilante member shot a youth dead in an undisclosed operation at Bomadi-Overside, headquarters of Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.
An eyewitness had said, a group of Bomadi Local Government Area Vigilante stormed a smoking joint at Bomadi-Overside, Saturday evening, in a yet-to-be-known operation.
He said:
“The vigilante group stormed the joint and everybody fled except the deceased, whose name is Paddy Ekrika, with whom they were interacting but nobody knew what was going on.
“Then, suddenly one of the vigilante members shot in the air twice and shot at the boy. He was rushed to Our Saviour’s Hospital, Bomadi-Overside, and around 12 pm yesterday Sunday, the boy died.
“As a result, some youths of Bomadi town went on a rampage destroying and burning down property in the community, including the residence of the vigilante member that killed the boy, the community hall and others”.
However, a source at Tuomo, a neighboring community in the Burutu council area, continued the narration that the rampaging youths stormed their community in search of fleeing vigilante members.
“Comrade Ebi Gadafi, who led the youths on the rampage, was on the pursuit of fleeing vigilante members to Tuomo, where he met resistance at a vigilante checkpoint at the entrance of the community, and who in his rage burned down their shade.
“Angered by his action, the youths of the community came out in their numbers, overpowered him and his group, and beat him to stupor before the intervention of men of the military Joint Task Force, JTF, stationed at Tuomo”, he said.
However, Comrade Gadafi, who was reported to have been in a critical condition at the time of filing this report, has been referred from the Bomadi General Hospital to Ughelli for treatment.
The Bomadi Division of the JTF, the Nigerian Police Force, and other security apparatuses have been put on the alert to curb the rising tension with the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew.
Contacted, the Bomadi Divisional Police Officer, Patrick Uebari, said: “yes there is tension as a result of the situation but it’s under control now.
“There’s dusk to dawn curfew imposed on residents of Bomadi and environs and there’s total compliance. This was done because cult boys were trying to take advantage of the situation but it’s under control”.
