Bridegroom shot dead a day before his wedding

Five persons in­cluding a bride­groom billed to wed yesterday and a police orderly were shot dead by ram­paging robbers in Enu­gu last Friday night.The gunmen who robbed Genuine Petrol Station in the Trans Ekulu part of the capital city killed the man­ager of the fuel station.Also killed at the fuel sta­tion was a man identified as Uzochukwu Eze who was billed to wed yesterday at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Trans Ekulu, Enu­gu.

The groom in company with his bride stopped to buy fuel on the way to drop a woman who brought a gift to the couple and took ex­cuse that she would not be able to attend the wedding ceremony.The woman who was seat­ed at the front of the car with the bridegroom was also shot dead by the trig­ger-happy robbers.As the robbers were es­caping through NOWAS/ Nike Lake Road, they also shot and killed a police or­derly attached to the wife of the Chairman of Nkanu West Local Government Area.The police orderly was said to have alighted from the vehicle to help ease traf­fic, which was building up at the Timber Market end of the road when the robbers disarmed and rained bullets on him.The Nkanu West Council Chairman, Mr. Afam Oker­eke, who spoke to Sunday Sun on phone, described the orderly identified simply as Amba Ununowo as a very close friend who discharged his duties creditably.Okereke said they were coming from an event when the victim decided to assist in easing the traffic.Reacting to the incident, the Enugu Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ebere Amaraizu said: “Rob­bers were not really on the rampage, but there was an incident, which allegedly brought about the death of some people by suspected hoodlums who shot sporadi­cally before the arrival of security operatives.”He said measures were on ground to unmask the hood­lums.