By Deborah Nnamdi
Widespread anger gripped Onitsha, Anambra State, on Thursday after a 12-year-old boy was allegedly shot dead by a security operative from Operation Udo Ga-Achi, a local task force reportedly under the Onitsha South Local Government Authority.
The incident took place on Ifejike Street, near the Biafra Market, as the boy—whose identity had yet to be confirmed—was said to be sitting on a culvert near the Nwangene Drainage, reportedly en route to a public toilet, when he was shot without warning.
Eyewitnesses claim the officer fired without any provocation or prior confrontation.
Immediately after the shooting, the operatives allegedly attempted to flee the scene. However, angry traders and local vigilante members quickly surrounded their vehicles, preventing their escape. Fearing the blame might fall on the vigilantes, the crowd insisted that the operatives take responsibility and transport the boy’s body themselves.
“We couldn’t let them leave the body behind,” said a local vigilante member, Nwadibia. “People might have assumed we were responsible.”
A viral video circulating on social media shows two operatives lifting the boy’s lifeless body into their official pickup truck, marked ANSG 0060, under the watchful and angry gaze of residents and traders.
Community members and eyewitnesses condemned the shooting as unprovoked and unjustifiable.
“This was no accident,” said Magnus Okoli, a trader at Biafra Market. “The boy was only about 12. He was just trying to relieve himself. They shot him like his life meant nothing.”
Witnesses also noted that the operatives did not resist the community’s demand to retrieve the corpse—an unusual response, they said, for security personnel often known to defend their actions aggressively.
“They knew they were wrong,” said one observer. “If they had a justification, they would have pushed back. But they didn’t.”
As of press time, Anambra State Police spokesperson DSP Tochukwu Ikenga had yet to respond to calls or messages. Efforts to reach the Divisional Police Officer at Fegge Police Station were unsuccessful, as he was reportedly unavailable.
The tragic killing has sparked widespread calls for justice and a thorough investigation into the actions of the operatives involved.