Enugu killer cop: Survivors recount ordeal

One stranger-than-fiction fact about the Lebanese manager of a lottery firm called Lotto Nigeria, whose sprawling edifice at Dr Chukwuemeka Ujam Street, Golf Estate Enugu, was suddenly turned to a “house of blood” or “slaughterhouse” by a killer-police inspector is that temptations or misfortunes appear to have visited him in phases.

Daily Trust was informed by an insider that the Lebanese and his wife are currently mourning the painful demise of their young daughter who was reportedly strangled by his Somalian gateman in Lebanon while his police security man in Nigeria suddenly became a gun maniac, who went wild shooting everybody in sight and by the time his smoking gun stopped, five persons dropped dead while some others suffered serious injuries.

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“Oga will be wondering why these sorts of things are happening to him now. His gateman from Somalia strangled his daughter; accusing her of showing off and rudeness. The Somalian gateman was said to have condemned the girl’s cockiness; saying that each time he called her, she would use her handset earpiece to block her ears and be busy listening to music. He was said to have accused the girl of being too proud. So, just a few weeks back, the angry gateman was said to have grabbed the girl’s throat and held it tight until she choked to death.

“And here in Nigeria now, Oga’s Mopol – who was deployed to provide security in the house has turned his weapon against those he was asked to protect. Who knows if oga and the wife were around, Oyibo Mopol would have killed them as well?”

The insider said that the soft-spoken Lebanese is a rich man who doesn’t like to see people suffering in poverty hence he prefers to help the less fortunate people around him, at least within the neighbourhood.

How it all started

The Police Inspector said to hail from Akwa Ibom State was on special protection duty at the residence of the Lebanese. Although, as at the time of writing this report, the Enugu State Police Command was yet to disclose his name or proper identity, an inside source told our reporter that “his name is Udom and one other name that is very long and difficult to pronounce,” adding that “the officer was also fond of staying alone like a recluse; as if he doesn’t want trouble.”

One of the survivors – Christiana, who is still receiving treatment at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUT) Parklane, Enugu, recounted the incident.

Christiana, who was in her hospital bed when our correspondent visited, recalled that when they resumed duty on Saturday around 9 pm, he switched off the light and water in the house when they were still doing some work.

She said: “Although we don’t know why he did that, nobody bothered to ask him to explain his reasons. So, in the morning around 9 am, we started hearing gunshots. He first shot the gateman – Joshua, before coming inside the compound. He also shot the chef but missed him, although he thought he got him before he shot me three times as I was running to hide. The bullet hit me in the upper chest and the right hand.”

When the police team from the Special Tactical Squad (STS) – formerly SARS – eventually arrived at the scene, Christiana said that the inspector brazenly told them fabricated lies, narrating how some unknown gunmen attacked the house.

She said: “He even praised God that he was gallant enough to have killed two of the unknown gunmen and asked the policemen to quickly help look for where other unknown gunmen were hiding. But it was at that point that our chef whom he thought he had killed shouted from his hiding place that he (Oyibo Mopol) was the unknown gunman shooting and killing everybody.”

Another survivor, Elizabeth, on her hospital bed, said that she miraculously survived the attack because her elder sister, Susana, and another staff covered her when the “butcher inspector” poured a volley of bullets on them, hence their body served as a shield against the bullets.

According to Elizabeth, “Around 9am on that fateful morning, I was outside washing clothes and doing other house chores when suddenly there were ear-tearing sporadic gunshots.

“I didn’t know the direction the gunshots were coming from and so I stood to go inside. However, my sister Susan dragged me inside our room which is in the boys’ quarters. She rebuked me hotly, screaming “don’t you hear the gunshots coming from the main house?”

“So, my sister Susan, another girl and I hid inside the room. Suddenly, one of our sisters, Christiana, ran inside with a bullet wound on the chest. She ran under the bed while three of us were lying on the bed covering ourselves. We were praying to the Almighty God to shield us and spare our lives.

“Unfortunately, the killer inspector shattered the glass windows with the nozzle of his gun before spraying bullets on us. So, the body of my sister Susan and the other girl shielded me as the bullets only hit my elbow and upper arm. Two of them died instantly because he riddled their bodies with bullets.”

Elizabeth further recalled: “Christina was lying under the bed in a pool of blood from the wound on her chest and my sisters were lying on top of me in a pool of blood. After that round of shootings and killings, he called our names severally to find out if any of us was still alive so that he would finally eliminate the person. The inspector was calling Susana! Susana, come out if you’re alive. Elizabeth, come out if you’re alive. When he didn’t hear any voice, I heard him calling another policeman on the telephone to say unknown gunmen came but thank God he neutralized two of them. He probably wanted to mislead the world. He wanted to cover his atrocities.”

However, while Elizabeth and Christiana were fortunate to have survived the violent gun attack, Mr Orji Ndubueze, said to be a motor-mechanic to the serving Chief Judge of Enugu State, was not.

Mrs Oluchi Orji is the widow of the slain Orji and they hail from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State. The couple and their four children have been residing at Dr Chukwuemeka Ujam Street, Golf Estate, for seven years now without any issue except the current trouble caused by the killer cop.

Oluchi, who said she is a full-time housewife, told Daily Trust Saturday how the tragedy that consumed her husband and turned her to a widow occurred.

She narrated: “My husband was inside our compound here washing clothes while the sporadic shooting was going on. But somehow, the sound of the gun stopped.

“Later, my husband opened our gate and peeped without seeing anybody on the street. He closed the gate but shortly after, he put on his shirt and went the second time to ascertain the cause of the shooting.

“That was when he saw the Mopol and both men exchanged handshakes. Later, my husband asked him what caused the sporadic gun shots. It was then the Mopol pushed my husband and pumped three bullets into his stomach and two bullets in his hand.

“My husband ran to the main road and fell down, begging people for help. However, out of fear, nobody could come close. Rather, people were running from pillar to post. It was only one bus driver that saw my husband and begged other people to join him and rush my husband to the hospital.

“They took him to three different hospitals but they rejected him and before he could be rushed to the ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, he died.”

“I wasn’t in when the incident occurred. I had travelled for a burial ceremony in Aba. I was there when someone called me to inform me of what happened.”

Facing the future with the kids

“Everything now is difficult. We have four children and I cannot train them because things are very difficult. I was selling male’s second-hand clothes but when the Covid-19 started last year, the business stopped. The breadwinner of the family has been killed by the policeman. How am I going to face the future with the children? That is where the main problem lies.

“I am just calling on everybody who have the milk of human kindness to come to my aid. I don’t have anybody to train these children because I am not doing anything. I am just a housewife.

“I am begging the government and everybody to come and help me train these children so that they will grow to become good citizens who will be useful to the community and humanity. I need food, money and other things to train the children.

Oluchi, whose eldest child is 12, said despite the demise of her husband, she believes the children will have a bright future only when the government, police authorities and well-meaning Nigerians decide to assist the family.

“My daughter Angel Orji is 12 years old. My first son, Kelvin, is 10. My second son, Wisdom, is eight and the last, Michael Oji, is five years old.  All of them are in school.

However, a statement issued by the police spokesman in Enugu, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, stated that Commissioner of Police Mohammed Aliyu said that the police officer had been arrested and taken into custody pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Aliyu had directed his deputy in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The police disclosed that the killer officer was an inspector attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 9, Umuahia, Abia State and was on duty at the Lotto Lottery company in Golf Estate.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said he was shocked and sad about the sad development when he visited the victims at the hospital. He sympathized with them and wished them quick recovery while commiserating with the families of the deceased.

Also, a former Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, expressed sadness over the incident and called for a thorough and credible investigation to unravel the root cause of the incident. He said that such action would ensure justice for the victims and their families.

Only time and unfolding events will tell if the families of the victims will be served justice at the end of the “thorough and credible investigations.”