Tension is brewing in Amaekpu Ohafia of Abia State where youths are threatening to avenge the death of a 70-year-old hunter allegedly beaten to death by a team of policemen who were on a mission to arrest the late hunter.

Witnesses said that but for swift intervention of soldiers form the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Barracks which averted further calamity, the youths would have unleashed reprisal attacks police in the area for sending the chairman of Ohafia Hunters Association to his untimely death.

The traditional ruler of the community, Prof. Emea Okwara Arua, has appealed to the restive youths to sheathe their sword, assuring that those who killed the hunter, Chief Kalu Nnoke Okowu (a.k.a Crossca), Saturday night would be brought to book.

The veteran hunter is believed to have died from the beating he was alleged to have received in the hands of policemen who came to arrest him for mistakingly shooting another hunter during a hunting expedition.

A source in Ohafia who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that until his violent death in the hands of the policemen, Okowu was not a trouble maker but was rather known for being jovial, caring and peace-loving.

Giving an account of what led to the demise of the old hunter, the source recalled that some months ago, Crossca led his colleagues on a hunting expedition and had an accidental discharge.

The inadvertent shooting lodged some pellets on the legs of Agwu Kalu Oba (alias Aliko), another hunter. He narrated that immediately the incident occurred, the wounded hunter was rushed to Ebem Hospital where he was treated and later discharged. He said Aliko is now recuperating in his home.

The source said further that Aliko was alleged to have enlisted the services of some policemen to arrest some of the hunters who were present when he was shot.

“He (Aliko) with the police arrested his elder brother, Akuma Kalu Oba, and one Julius; and in the process of trying to arrest Crossca, they broke his door and started hitting him with guns and in the process he (Crossca) collapsed,” the source told News Express.

“All efforts by doctors to revive him failed and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed ‘dead on arrival’ by the medical team at the hospital,” the source added.

The news of the death of the famous hunter set the community on the precipice as the youths quickly mobilised for revenge. Witnesses said the military in the nearby barracks was alerted and the soldiers moved swiftly to defuse the growing tension.

The police denied the claim that their men killed Okowu but did not provide details either.

Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Ogbonnaya Nta, di not comment on the issue but referred the reporter to his boss, the Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade.

Responding to a text message sent to his mobile phone, Oyebade wrote: “That is not correct, get the true picture of the incident from the DC, SCID.”

This is as the wife of the deceased, Madam Kalu Nnoke, has cried out for justice. She has called on the government to ensure that those found culpable are brought to book, as that it is the only way to assuage the spirit of her murdered husband.

Update news