By John Ugo
Tension has continued in parts of Owerri the Imo state capital and adjoining towns following the murder of a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Patuma in his Oguta country home.
Patuma, a lawyer, was said to have returned home from a function around dusk, last Tuesday but unknown to him, he was being trailed by some assailants.
It was learnt that his killers had waited until it was about 8am before they broke into his home at Mgbala Agwa village, Oguta Local Government Area of Imo state and abducted him.
The retired Police Chief was bundled away to an unknown destination by his abductors.
Efforts to trace his whereabouts was unsuccessful.
It was gathered that his phone lines were switched off.
However a search by locals in his community led to discovery of his corpse which was later dumped in front of his house.
Source close to the community said that Patuma was killed in his house while another source explained that he was abducted and taken away to his farm, where he was gruesomely hacked to death before his body was brought back and dumped in his house.
A family source noted that, “the victim was last seen around the time he returned home and had interacted briefly with some of his kinsmen before signing off for the day”.
Further investigations revealed that after Patuma was murdered by his abductors, his lifeless body was dumped in front of his house which is believed to indicate that the ex-cop was assassinated.
Already, there is palpable tension in the community as the locals are still at a loss as to why their kinsman was assassinated.
Effort to reach the Imo state police public relation officer, Mr Mike Abatam for reaction on the development proved abortive.
The Special Adviser to the governor of Imo state on Print Media, Hon Modestus Nwamkpa who is also an indigene of Oguta, confirmed the report.
He said he was yet to get details of the sad incident.