Izuchukwu Mbakwe, 29, of Umuosu Okaiuga Nkwoegwu, Umuahia North LGA, Abia State, awoke on March 26 as he always did, unaware that his day would end him at the mortuary.
According to a family source, he was an employee at a well-known restaurant in Umuahia who had only recently begun working there toward the close of the previous year (2022).
According to the family, Izuchukwu was an ambitious young guy who believed in fighting for existence.
Although his mother had six children while her co-wife had seven, he was the last child in a polygamous household of thirteen.
Izuchukwu even traveled to Dubai in his young attempt to survive, but last year, at the request of his sister, who is now in the US, he returned to Nigeria since, according to family sources, he was suffering there.
Izuchukwu was reportedly given a job at the restaurant by the worried sister, likely as a stopgap solution to get her body and soul in order before she left for the US.
However, Izuchukwu was reportedly owed money by his company for five months.
He met an early death as a result of his endeavor to obtain reimbursement for his salary arrears.
Izuchukwu’s family has pleaded for justice after being devastated by the tragedy of his death in the course of business. Professor Roy Mbakwe, his stepbrother and the family’s eldest member, stated they had not yet accepted that Izuchukwu had indeed passed away in an interview with Saturday Vanguard.
Izuchukwu’s mother was reportedly too devastated to speak because she was sobbing uncontrollably and needed to be sedated, according to Professor Roy, who described how the family learned of his untimely demise.
I received a call from Izuchukwu’s elder brother from his mother’s womb at approximately 8:30 p.m. on March 26 to inform me that Izu had passed away and that he was at the Federal Medical Center Umuahia.
“Izuchukwu worked at the restaurant De Choice. They owed the business money for five months. He went to the Auditor that Sunday to demand payment.
The Auditor called a local vigilante group called the Bakassi boys after filing a complaint, saying, “This is one of those who took my Nokia torch.
He instructed the young Bakassi lad to chastise Izuchukwu. After stripping him, he led him outdoors where he began pounding him while it was raining. He was left lying in a pool of blood after being shot in the thigh.
“After shooting him, the Bakassi boy started pointing his rifle at everybody attempting to save him.
But his luck ran out when a military guy and his entourage spotted the situation as they were entering the restaurant to make a purchase. Izu was taken to the FMC where he was identified as dead after they had disarmed the Bakassi boy.
The military man called the authorities at Umuahia’s Central Authorities Station, or CPS, to report the incident. My brother Uchenna went to FMC and personally observed the situation after being contacted by the police.
“The cops assured us that they would look into the situation. The gunman has been taken into custody, but the Auditor has escaped. They claimed to have gotten in touch with the property’s owner and asked him to send over the auditor.
The State Criminal Investigation Department, CID, has received the case. We have faith in them since they pledged to do a comprehensive examination of the situation.
However, Izuchukwu’s family claims that his death was deliberate, warning that if the situation is not handled properly, it would escalate into a global issue. How is it OK to have one of your employees killed at work only because the employee wanted payment? It’s so sad! Never previously have I heard anything like this.
This was a premeditated murder. If God hadn’t sent the military man to step in, they would have wanted to abandon him in the rain. Do you know that the day following the incident, they went and paid all the staff’s unpaid wages to ensure that no one would go to the police and provide a statement? Yet the Police gave us their word that justice would be served. We only seek justice!
Although powerless, his mother is present. She has been sobbing and refusing to be comforted since this happened and you can’t even see her right now. She needed a sedative, which we had to administer. All of us are devastated.
While confirming the occurrence, the Abia State Police Command criticized the excessive vigilantes’ actions.
Geoffrey Ogbonna, PPRO for the police, announced in a statement that the gun-toting Bakassi boy had been arrested.
The statement said: “On March 26, 2023, at about 1630 hours, a shooting incident occurred in one of the DE CHOICE FAST FOOD locations near Michael Okpara Square in Umuahia.
“The event that took the life of Izuchukwu Mbakwe, a male employee of the restaurant who was around 29 years old, was claimed to have started with a dispute between the dead and a fellow employee over a stolen Android phone.
Eventually, the matter was brought to the attention of one Ernest Udemezugo, a man of about 48 years old who was working at the eatery as a member of the Abia State Vigilante Service, also known as Bakassi.
Instead of defusing the situation, the watchful security guards made it worse by shooting Izuchukwu Mbakwe in the thigh with the pump action gun that was assigned to him. This led to Mbakwe’s death.
The victim was sent to the Federal Medical Center Umuahia right away, but he subsequently passed away.
The wrongdoing vigilante officer has been detained, and his firearm has been found, while the deceased’s remains have been placed in the mortuary for storage.
“Abia State Police Command condemns the unprofessional behavior of the vigilante security men and expresses sympathy to the bereaved family and friends.
“Therefore, the Commissioner of Police Abia State Command, CP Mustapha Mohammed Bala, psc, pleads for calm from the public, advising people to abstain from violence or use self-help, and assuring that justice must be served during the inquiry.
“The Police Command would continue to carry out their responsibilities with utmost seriousness and be ready at all times to respect the rights of every citizen.”
Speaking to Saturday Vanguard, HRM Eze Sir Nzenwata Mbakwe, the victim’s relative and the Umuosu Okaiuga Nkwoegwu community’s traditional chief, expressed astonishment and anguish over the heinous deed.
He claimed that society had gotten so horrible that people were no longer valued for their lives.
The former 1st Deputy Chairman of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers pleaded with security organizations to prevent the issue from being ignored.