Details emerged on Tuesday on how a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Mr. Samuel Dumebi Okonta, a graduate of Political Science from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, was murdered in cold blood on Saturday night.
Okonta, who hailed from Illah community in Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, served as the Assistant Presiding Officer (APO II) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)at Ukpeliede Town Hall, Ward 6, Unit 5 in Ahoada West Local Government during the last Saturday’s rerun elections in Rivers State.
It was learnt that the deceased was trailed and killed after he had submitted the election results to the local government office of INEC in Ahoada West.
Okonta’s colleague, Anana Aniekan Udoetor, who narrated what transpired after votes were cast, said he was in the company of the late Okonta departing INEC’s office when his killers tracked them and shot sporadically at them.
Udoetor, who spoke on the phone, explained that they had concluded their duty and were on their way back to Ukpeliede, when the unfortunate incident occurred.
“I was the APO I, while Okonta was the APO II at the Ukpeliede town hall, Ward 6, Unit 5, we had conducted the elections peacefully without even the presence of security agents.
“We proceeded to the INEC collation centre to submit our results, on reaching there, the environment was tense and supporters of both APC and PDP were charged. We managed to submit our results, but while we were submitting them, there was an alarm of skirmishes, forcing the collation officers to hide under the table,” he disclosed.
Anana said the situation at the INEC local government secretariat seemed unsafe, which prompted him and his late friend to take the risk of travelling back to Ukpeliede.
“We felt that the INEC office was no longer safe, so we then made our way to Ndiama junction and took a taxi to Okode junction. We were supposed to board a (commercial) motorcycle, but we couldn’t get one, so we decided to trek down to Ukpeliede.
“Shortly after, we saw a vehicle coming and we noticed that the head lamps of the vehicle was not on and someone in the vehicle was pointing a torchlight at us.
“We suddenly realised that the vehicle was coming directly towards us and before we knew what was happening, we started hearing gunshots. I ran inside the bush but they kept on shooting. Okonta was killed in the process.
“I stayed in the bush for some minutes and later ran into an uncompleted building which is used as a church,” he said.
When contacted, Samuel’s elder brother, Azuka, could not speak on the death of his sibling, stating that he was on his way to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to see his late brother’s corpse.
However, his younger brother, Uche, who works as a software engineer in Lagos, said he was still in shock following the news of his brother’s death.
Uche, who is the only younger brother of the deceased, said the late Samuel was an easy-going God-fearing young man, who was often referred to by his friends as a pastor.
“We are nine in number from the same parents, our father died in 1993 and our mother in 2012. I am the last child, while Samuel was my immediate elder brother, he was very calm and easy-going.
“He attended Ugbede Memorial Primary school, Illah; then proceeded to Illah Grammar School and later Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. People usually referred to him as a pastor because of his calm disposition and neat dressing. But he was just an usher in the church,” he said.
Credit: Thisday
