A brother to the murdered businessman from Mkpat Enin Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State has begged the Federal Government to bring the suspected Nigerian soldier to justice.
Mr. Enobong Christopher Jimmy from Ikot Obio Akai, Mkpat Enin and a staffer of Eco Clearing & Forwarding Company in Port Harcourt was murdered in cold blood by a soldier he gave a lift from Eleme junction in Port to Ikot Abasi.
But in the middle of the journey along East West Road, the soldier accosted the businessman, shot him dead, dumped the corpse by the roadside and escaped with the car.
Speaking with our correspondent in Uyo on Wednesday, Mr Idorenyin Ikpongeyen, brother to the deceased, regretted that the case, if not followed to the later, would prevent other Nigerians from offering minor assistance to others, for fear of being killed.
Ikpongeyen lamented that the deceased who met his untimely death on his way to visit his family members in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, left behind a very young family, as his last child is just a year old.
“It is very painful that we had to lose our brother to the hands of an ungodly Nigerian military person, all because he wanted to steal or reap from where he did not sow.
“I beg the Federal Government, the Nigerian Army and the general public to help fight this fight for us. I beg the Nigeria government to bring justice to the one who murdered my brother, leaving his two kids and a wife behind,” he said.
Our correspondent gathered family of the victim got the information and quickly evacuated the corpse and deposited in the mortuary.
Unknown to the runaway soldier, the snatched vehicle had a tracker used by the police as the family reported the matter.
However, the police swung to action and tracked the car to a small hotel in Ukanafun Local Government Area within Akwa Ibom where the soldier was arrested with AK49 rifle.
The state Police Public Relations Officer in Akwa Ibom, Odiko McDon who confirmed the incident to reporters said investigation was ongoing.
“The soldier has been arrested and kept in our custody. Investigation is ongoing. We would unravel why the soldier could commit such crime against somebody who offered to help him,” he said.
The Army officer, according to the family source, not just shot his victim, but inflicted several dagger wounds on his chest and made away with his vehicle.
“With a car tracking device in the car, he was tracked, and pick up at one hotel in Ukanafun LGA.”
“The military hierarchy was at the state police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia on Monday to pick him up for a Court Marshal before handing him over to the police for prosecution,” an earlier report had said.
