Survivors Recount Ordeal After Police Inspector Went Beserk In Enugu

Two survivors of the Enugu shooting have recounted their ordeal after a policeman guarding a business complex went beserk, and shot five persons dead, and left four others seriously injured.

In all, no fewer than nine people were shot with five losing their lives instantly while four others escaped with life-threatening injuries.

Among the four officials of the lotto company who escaped death narrowly were two women identified as Elizabeth and Christina.

While Elizabeth had bullet wounds on her left shoulder and right arm, Christina saw bullets pierce through her left shoulder while her right hand was also shattered.

Narrating her ordeal in an interview with The Nation at the Enugu State University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu where she is currently recuperating, Elizabeth said she and her six other colleagues had woken up in the company’s premises on that Sunday morning without any premonition of the evil that lurked in the corner.

She said she was outside the building washing her clothes when sounds of gunshots resonated from the gates.

Elizabeth said: “I heard about five or six gunshots and I wanted to go and check what it was. It was then that my elder sister, Susan, ran towards me and dragged me inside our room without any explanation. I met two other girls in our room.

“As we all ran into the room, we saw the policeman trying to force our window open but the window was firmly closed. He shot at the window, shattered it, and aimed the gun at us.

“I was already lying down on the bed while my sister, Susan, and the other two girls lay on top of me. Because my sister was the one on top of all of us, I heard her calling on the policeman to have mercy. The next thing we saw was that he opened fire on us and my sister and the other girl died instantly.

“The other girl ran under the bed, and as I tried to join her another bullet caught me on the shoulder. I fell flat under the bed.

“The policeman went out again and we heard other gunshots. He later returned and started calling our names. He even checked through the window to see if we were still alive, but Christina and I pretended as if we were dead.

“After calling our names without any response, we heard him making a call to tell the person at the other end that unknown gunmen had attacked the company and killed seven people.

“We were still pretending to be dead when policemen drove into the premises and we started hearing voices. I also heard the voice of our cook who was now telling them that it was the policeman himself that attacked us.

“So, when the policemen came into our room, they met us there with our bed soaked in the blood of my sister and my colleague. Christina and I were also bleeding from the bullet wounds while the two other girls with us were already dead.”

Asked if the man was drunk and what could have prompted him to start killing people, Elizabeth said: “The man was not drunk. He neither drinks nor smokes. He was always teasing me and calling me Elli. According to him, I strike a very close resemblance with one of his daughters also named Elli.

“In fact, if I didn’t see him shooting, I would not have believed that he could ever attempt to harm us. I don’t know what came over him.”

On her part, Christina said that none of the company’s workers knew the true identity of the policeman despite the fact that he had been working with them since January.

She said: “We all addressed him as officer or Mopol, and we related very well with him. He was working with two other security men who worked as gatemen, and he had lived in the house with us for six months.

“He shot the two gatemen before he came to us. One of them died instantly because he was shot in the stomach. The younger one had his legs shattered.

“I can’t remember seeing him quarreling with anyone. But, I think sometimes in the past, he said something about IPOB or ESN killing policemen and burning police stations. He was not happy about that and said he would finish the IPOB people or something like that. I think that’s the only time I saw him complain.”