Two men, Stanley Omeke from Aguibeje community and Igbonasi Odo-Okoro of Aji community in Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, were reportedly executed by the Aji community?s neighbourhood watch on December 16, 2024.

The vigilante group later alleged that the victims were highway robbers who were shot dead during a gun battle, but their families insist the accusations are baseless and are demanding justice.

According to Nmesoma Omeke, Stanley?s wife, the tragic incident occurred after she and her husband had gone Christmas shopping.

She recounted that around 5 p.m., as they waited for a commercial motorcycle at Aji Junction to take them home, members of the local neighbourhood watch approached and began shouting at her husband, demanding that he follow them.

When she and her husband asked what he had done, the vigilantes refused to answer and started assaulting him.

?They wouldn?t explain what he had done. I told my husband to go with them to avoid being beaten, and I rushed to inform his friend, Kingsley Igbonasi, about what had happened. Kingsley left to find out what was going on, but neither of them returned,? she said.

Igbonasi?s wife later revealed that her husband had gone to the vigilante office to inquire about Stanley?s arrest, but he never made it back home. The following morning, rumours began circulating that both men had been executed by the vigilante group at Okpo Union Primary School in Aji.

When Kingsley?s stepbrother, Arinze Odo-Okoro Onuwa, heard the news, he immediately went to the vigilante office but found no trace of the two men. The family then filed a missing persons report at the Igboeze North Police Station.

?The next day, we started hearing rumours that the vigilantes had taken them to a school and shot them dead,? Arinze said.

He also dismissed the vigilantes? claim that the two men had been caught robbing vehicles on the highway.

?We live in this community. If there had been any robbery, everyone would know. This is nothing but a fabricated story to justify their actions,? Arinze said.

Stanley?s brother, Jude Omeke, received a call on December 17, informing him that his brother had been killed by the vigilantes.

He told Daily Sun that when he contacted the Divisional Police Officer in Igboeze North, he was informed that two bodies had been brought In by the vigilantes. The vigilantes claimed the men were highway robbers killed by soldiers but later admitted in a statement to the police that they had killed the men themselves during a gunfight.

Jude questioned the credibility of their account. ?Where is the gun my brother supposedly used? If there was a gunfight, where are the weapons? My?brother is not a criminal.

?This was a planned killing. This kind of killing is becoming too common. The authorities must step in and put an end to it. We cannot allow vigilantes to continue taking lives without consequence.?

He further disclosed that Stanley had an ongoing court case involving the vigilantes, suggesting that the execution might have been a targeted act of revenge.

On his part, Arinze criticised the vigilantes for acting as judge, jury, and executioner.

?Even the government doesn?t execute criminals without a trial. What gives a vigilante group the right to kill? If someone commits a crime, you take them to court. This is murder, plain and simple,? he said.

The killings have left both families devastated and seeking answers.

Nmesoma, who has two young children, expressed her heartbreak, saying, ?I don?t know if my husband is dead or alive. All I want is the truth. My children need their father, and we deserve justice.?

The families of Stanley Omeke and Kingsley Igbonasi Odo-Okoro are now appealing to the Inspector General of Police, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and ensure justice is served.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, said he was not aware of the incident as he does not have such a report. (Daily Sun)

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