BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
Ozoemena Ezeh, a popular automobile technician in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, has been arrested by men of the state police command for allegedly smashing a bottle of beer on the head of his colleague, Stephen Okeh, consequently leading to his death.
The incident that happened recently at a drinking joint along Uga Street in Abakaliki, around 7pm, has thrown the residents of the area, including the wife and five children of the deceased into mourning.
An eyewitness, Helen Udeh, told The Point that trouble started when a heated argument ensued between the two enraged men. She alleged that Ezeh smashed a bottle of beer on Okeh’s head, leading to his death.
Another source, who craved anonymity, stated that trouble started when the suspect, at the drinking joint situated at Ekeaba Market, attempted to hit the deceased with his car, a development that infuriated Okeh.
“Usually, people gather at the new joint to eat and drink. On that fateful day, the deceased was coming to the joint when the suspect drove his car in a rough manner towards Okeh and almost hit him.
“Okeh became furious and questioned why Ezeh should drive roughly and almost hit him. After this, the suspect started raising his voice, threatening the deceased. In fact, from all indications, it seemed that both of them had issues before now or were already drunk before coming to the joint.
“People at the joint tried to calm the suspect down but he continued to threaten the deceased. To the amazement of many, the suspect picked up a bottle and smashed it on the head of the deceased and the young man collapsed.
“Few minutes later, people realised that the deceased was motionless and blood was coming out from his mouth and nose. Many of the people there ran away,” he narrated.
The source added that shortly after the incident, policemen arrived at the scene and arrested the suspect. They also took the corpse of the deceased away.
When contacted, the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, confirmed the incident saying that the two men were drunk and exchanged arguments at the joint.
Garba said, “The incident happened and the victim died. The two of them, the man that killed and the one that died, came to the joint together to drink. But, of course, you should know they were already drunk.
“The two of them just had a little argument in the beer parlour and one of them took a bottle and smashed it on the head of the other person. The incident happened just between the two of them.
“The one whose head was hit with the bottle was rushed to the hospital but he did not survive it. By now, I am sure my men would have arrested the suspect.”
