Student Shot Dead By Security Guards At Senator Stella Oduah’s Estate, Sparking Outrage

By Chuks Eke*

Ogbaru, Anambra State –  A wave of outrage has swept through the Akili-Ozizor community following the fatal shooting of a final-year student by private security guards at Senator Stella Oduah’s Estate.

Noel Chinedu Okechukwu, a Fine and Applied Arts student at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), was killed on Saturday, August 17th, sparking accusations of extrajudicial killing and demands for justice.

According to a petition filed by the deceased’s father, veteran journalist Rex Peters Okechukwu, Noel had gone to the Estate to purchase fish from a pond within the grounds.  Upon reaching the gate, he was allegedly denied entry by security guards.

A heated argument ensued, culminating in one of the guards firing his pump action rifle, hitting Noel and causing him to collapse.

The petition further alleges that the guards then attempted to revive Noel by giving him water, but he died shortly after.  A motorcyclist was then dispatched to inform the family of the tragic incident.

The bereaved father has demanded justice, arguing that his son was unjustly killed.  “Even if they felt he had committed a crime, they should have arrested him and handed him over to the police,”  he asserted in the petition.

In a starkly contrasting account, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Atani, Mr Andrew, claimed that Noel was part of a group looting and vandalizing the Estate.

He further stated that the deceased and his alleged accomplices were armed with pump action guns and fired on the security guards, prompting a retaliatory response that led to Noel’s death.

The DPO also expressed scepticism about the petitioner’s claim of being the deceased’s father, citing the delay in reporting the incident.

The case file has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Annex, Awkuzu, for further investigation.

The incident has ignited a storm of controversy, with the community demanding a thorough and transparent investigation to uncover the truth behind Noel’s death.

The events raise serious questions about the actions of the security guards, the validity of their claims, and the lack of accountability in the face of such a tragic loss of life.