Awka – HUNDREDS of youths of Enugwu -Ukwu in Njikoka local government area of Anambra State went on rampage Thursday following the death of a middle-aged man in the area said to be an only son.
The youths made burn fires and brought traffic to a standstill on the ever-busy Onitsha -Enugu old road.
They said the Police killed the man while trying to enforce the curfew order and threatened to burn down a police station in the area.
However, the police said the man’s death was caused by a fatal accident.
Following the protest, the state police command deployed a large number of its men to the area to maintain law and order.
An eye witness said that following the large number of the youths on the road, the policemen were forced to start shooting sporadically in the air to disperse them.
The witness said: “The victim was an apprentice barber and an only son from Adagbe Avomimi village of Enugwu Ugwu. The young man was heading home from work around 8pm when he met his untimely death in the hands of the police.
“He was walking along Nimo road when he saw some policemen from Nimo station running after him to arrest him, which made him take to his heels.
“It was while he was running that an oncoming shuttle bus knocked him down and instead of the police to rush him to the hospital, they took him to the station where he died.
“We have lost about three youths in Anambra State in the name of enforcing COVID -19 lockdown,
“Officially, we have not recorded any Coronavirus related death in Anambra State, but we have had about three deaths from police enforcement concerning lockdown and curfew directives in the state.”
Although the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Mohammed Haruna, confirmed the death, he said it was a case of fatal accident involving a man, who was trying to run away from the presence of police because of the curfew, adding that he, unfortunately, ran into a moving vehicle.
He, however, said that the police command had invited the youth leaders to know exactly their grievances because they were alleging it was caused by the police.
