Hyacinth Chinweuba
A 35-year-old man, Ogbala Simon, went berserk and attacked 11 persons with a sharp cutlass, killing seven, at about 2pm, Monday.
The incident happened in Onyikwa Nkaleke, Ozibo community, Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The killer, suspected to be insane, allegedly hacked down his wife, two children and four other persons in his neighbourhood. He also inflicted machete cuts on four other persons.
At the moment, medical doctors are battling to save the lives of the injured at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA II).
Confirming the incident, the police public relations officer in the state, ASP Loveth Odah, said that the councilor representing Onyikwa Ward alerted the police ‘B’ Division in Kpirikpiri, Abakaliki, about the incident.
“On January 21, 2019, at about 2pm, a councillor from Ebonyi Local Government Area, representing Onyikwa Ward, Mr. Friday Nwigube, came to ‘B’ Division, Kpirikpiri, and reported that, on the same day, Ogbala Simon, 35, a suspected insane man, was going about inflicting machete cuts on people” Odah said
“A combined team of detectives rushed to the village, where they found several persons with deep machete cuts. They were rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where the victims, seven of them, were confirmed dead by a medical doctor. Four others are still receiving treatment but in critical condition.”
She said that the attacker ran into the bush when the youths of the community tried to apprehend him, assuring, however, that the police were on his trail and would not give up until he is arrested.
Meanwhile, the corpses of the victims have been deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.