Labourer kills civil servant three days to retirement
mourning over the gruesome murder of one of its
sons, Mr. Emmanuel Emereonye, a federal civil
servant.
It was gathered that Emmanuel was killed three days
to his retirement from the service.
Emmanuel, an administrative officer at the Federal
Government Girls College, Umuahia, was on Tuesday,
March 17, 2015, butchered by a labourer he hired to
work for him in his hometown at Dioka Nzerem
village, in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area
of Imo State.
It was gathered that Emmanuel had decided to build
a befitting country house where he hoped to relocate
to after his retirement.
He was said to have contracted some labourers to lay
the foundation of the building. The labourers
included one of his godson, Samuel Edomobi.
After the day's job on the fateful day, for which he
had given the labourers their daily wages, it was
learnt that Emmanuel was informed later in the day
that Edomobi had gone to his (Emmanuel) farm to
harvest palm fruits. He rushed to his farm and found
Edomobi on a palm tree, harvesting palm fruits.
Emmanuel was said to have ordered Edomobi to get
down from the tree, telling him that harvesting fruits
from his farm was not part of the job he paid him
for. An argument ensued and in the process,
Edomobi allegedly used the machete he was using to
harvest the palm fruits on Emmanuel.
Emmanuel was said to have taken to his heels, while
Edomobi followed in hot pursuit. He was said to have
caught up with him (Emmanuel) and hit him in the
neck with the machete.
Edomobi was said to have left Emmanuel in a pool of
blood. The neighbour that alerted Emmanuel to the
fact that Edomobi was harvesting from his farm
escaped from the scene and raised the alarm.
By the time the villagers reportedly arrived at the
scene, Emmanuel had bled to death, while Edomobi
had escaped from the scene.
It was gathered that policemen arrested Edomobi's
mother, which forced the suspect to turn himself in.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect had been
transferred to the state Criminal Investigations
Department, Owerri, while the body of the deceased
had been deposited in a morgue.
Emmanuel's first child, Chidimma, told our
correspondent on Thursday, during a visit the
Emereonyes, that the family had planned to celebrate
its father's birthday ,which was to be a day after his
retirement, before the incident.
Chidimma, who is a second year political science
student of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, said, "My
father was killed three days to his retirement and
four days to his birthday. He was supposed to be 60
by Saturday, March 21, 2015. We had made plans to
celebrate his birthday and retirement, but all that
was not to be."
The brother-in-law to the deceased, Izuchukwu
Ohiaeriaku, said the family suspected conspiracy in
Emmanuel's death.
According to him, there had been issues on the land
where Emmanuel was building his country home,
which was resolved only recently. He said the house
would have been completed, but for the dispute.
"Maybe Edomobi was used to perfect a plot
orchestrated somewhere. The family suspects that
what killed Emmanuel may not be far from the land
issue," he said.
Widow of the deceased, Ngozi Emereonye, said, "I am
a housewife with six children. Where do I start from?
His death is a big blow to the family and I cannot
recover from it for the rest of my life."
Meanwhile, a family source, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, lamented that policemen
from the state CID had been extorting the family
under the guise of investigation.
"The police asked us to pay N120,000 for autopsy.
That was after collecting N10,000 for "police
photographs", which is just to take pictures of the
deceased in the mortuary," he said.
The Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP
Andrew Enwerem, confirmed the incident, saying the
suspect would be taken to court once investigation
was completed.
On the alleged extortion, Enwerem said, "The police
does not pay for autopsy. Where do you expect the
police to get that kind of money from?
"If the family can get any medical doctor that will
charge them less than that amount, they should bring
the person and the police will work with him. The
crime is not bailable, so the suspect will remain in
custody until investigation is completed."
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