.By Tolulope Popoola
Tension has enveloped Ogulagha community, situated in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State as a youth named Endurance Kalaepele, was reportedly shot dead by soldiers attached to Forcados Terminal in the community.
According to reports, the 27-year-old man was said to have been shot two times at about 11pm on Monday by the military men, while he was picking snails with his team of snail hunters.
Following the unfortunate incident, enraged youths of the community went on rampage, destroying company vehicles and properties, taking over the major roads in the community to express the extent of their anger.
Youth president of the community, ThankGod Iyaragba, while speaking with newsmen, stated that the deceased was with six others hunting snails late Monday night when he was allegedly shot dead by soldiers.
As of the time of filing this report, the Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe told newsmen that he was yet to get details of the incident, while the Special Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Political Matters, Comrade Ozobo Austin, on the other hand, described the killing of the youth as “unprofessional, provocative, barbaric” which could incite unrest in the community.
The governor’s aide while sympathising with the entire community and the bereaved family, appealed to the aggrieved youths to calm their frayed nerves while he assured them that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa will investigate the incident and bring to book every soldier that is involved in the act.
According to Ozobo, the unlawful killing of the man in the Ogulagha community should be outrightly condemned by every citizen of the State, adding with much emphasis that it is all shades of wrong that the military has always been going for soft targets in the Niger Delta region.
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