Houses, motorcycles, households equipments and wares were on Tuesday set ablaze at Okwu Uratta community in the Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo state.
This was following the killing of a youth of the area, identified as Friday Njoku allegedly by the vigilante group members operating in the community.
An indigene of the community who spoke to Journalists on an anonymous condition said that the youths accused the leader of the vigilante group, Emmanuel Abakporo who is an officer of the state command of the Nigeria Correctional Service of allegedly supervising the killing of Njoku.
Angered by his death, the youths stormed his house, on meeting his absence, they beat his son to stupor and went to his wife’s shop and set it ablaze.
They returned to his house, burnt it, his car, motorcycles and household equipment.
The source said “our community is on fire. The youths are on rampage. A young man by name Friday Njoku was killed on Sunday and his body dumped there. People saw that it was the security people in the community that shot him dead.
“On Tuesday morning, the youths grouped and stormed the house of the leader of the security men but met his absence. They beat his son to stupor and went to his wife’s shop and destroyed everything there. They returned to his house and set it ablaze.
“But as I speak to you Policemen have arrived the area and doing everything possible to restore normalcy. The leader of the vigilante group members is an officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service. He works at the state command headquarters. The family of the victim is demanding justice. The youths of the community are demanding justice.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said that the state commissioner of police, Danjuma Aboki, had sent men to the scene for a rescue mission.
He also discovered that fire fighters had been drafted in to put out the inferno.
Okoye said that investigation into what transpired had been launched by the command with a view of bringing the offenders to justice.
