A funeral procession became even more sombre in Warri, Delta State, at the weekend as a soldier allegedly opened fire on the mourners. The mourners, who were on a procession through the major streets of Warri for their dead friend, who was aged 23 years, were hit on their way to the mortuary.
One of the mourners had earlier been arrested by soldiers stationed in the town to ensure security for allegedly stealing a handset. On being told this, the other mourners went to the soldiers to seek their friend�s release. But when the soldiers would not budge, the mourners, aged between 22 and 25, attempted to forcibly take their friend from the custody of the soldiers.
One of the soldiers, who was said to have taken the action as an affront, opened fire on the procession felling two and injuring several others as the mourners scampered for their lives. The two felled by the gunshot – Ufuoma Opaggen and Ovie Oberiri, were rushed to hospital.
One of them, Ufuoma Opaggen, Nigerian Tribune later gathered, died while Ovie Oberiri is still unconscious as at Sunday afternoon. One of the mourners, Chidi Alukwe, told newsmen that the actions of the soldiers were uncalled for. Alukwe called on the government to withdraw the soldiers from the streets in the Niger Delta region.
Attempts to get the confirmation of the Public Relations Officer (P.R.O) of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major Said Hammed, on Sunday proved abortive as he could not be reached on his mobile phone. Also, a pregnant woman was at the weekend killed by a stray bullet shot by a policeman who was attempting to dislodge a group of protesters in Effurun, Delta State.
The victim, Rita Moses, a mother of two, was said to have boarded a bus at Ovwian to visit her sister in Warri. The woman, accompanied by her two kids, ran into the protesters at Enerhen junction. The vehicle in which the woman, accompanied by her two children, was travelling, was held up at Enerhen Junction because of the protest.
While trying to disperse the protesters who attempted to invade a Korean oil servicing firm, Hyundai Heavy Industries, one of the policemen called to duty was said to have opened fire with a shot hitting the pregnant woman. The woman was reported to have died on her way to the hospital.
Confirming the incident, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), �B� Division, Warri, Mr. Abel Edibogi, said the case was a pathetic one. He claimed that on hearing the incident, he attempted to save the woman�s life by rushing her to the hospital, but that she died on the way.
Edibogi added that the matter had since been transferred to the proper police jurisdiction, Enerhen police station.