- Safiu Kehinde
Jonathan Odikanwa, father of student shot dead by a legal practitioner, Barr. Donald Mbamah, in Imo state has lamented over the untimely death of his son.
NPO Reported that Paul Victor, a JSS1 student of Urban Urban Development Secondary School, was last week Monday shot in the buttocks by Mbamah while trying to retrieve his ball in the 64-year-old lawyer’s residence at Area N, World Bank, New Owerri.
Victor was rushed to a General Hospital for treatment.
He was, unfortunately, pronounced dead on Thursday despite efforts to save him.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Punch on Sunday, Jonathan, the father of the deceased student, clarified that his son was 19-year-old as against initial reports which claimed he was 16.
He recalled how the school officials visited him Monday to inform him about the incident.
“He was 19 years old and was in JSS 1. He didn’t start school early.
“The incident happened on Monday. I was at home between 1.30pm and 2pm when some people came to my house and introduced themselves as teachers and students of Urban Development Secondary School.
“They told me that my son had a problem. When I asked them what kind of problem it was, they were hesitant about what they wanted to say. But I insisted that they tell me exactly what happened.
“They said that my son and other students were playing football when their ball went into a neighbour’s compound. My son climbed the fence with the help of other students to retrieve the ball.
“In the process, they heard a gunshot, and my son fell from the fence. The other students rushed to where he had fallen. It was then that they noticed he had a bullet wound, and there was blood all over his body. They immediately rushed him to the hospital, and the matter was reported to the school management.” He narrated.
The 70-year-old father further disclosed how the lawyer initially denied shooting Paul while being interrogated by the police.
While he could not ascertain if Paul had sustained bullet wound, Jonathan said the doctors conducted a surgery on him on Wednesday and discovered he had a cut in his intestine.
“The hospital requested an X-ray, which I paid for. They also conducted a scan, and the report was handed over to the police.
“But my son continued to feel pain, so the hospital requested another X-ray to check if there were any other injuries.
“After that, they were not satisfied with the results and asked me to take him to another laboratory for further examination. They conducted a scan and a chest X-ray, and we returned the results to the hospital.
“They said they would check his abdomen to see if he had sustained any internal injuries when he fell. On Wednesday, they took him into surgery, and they said he had a cut in his intestine.” He said.
While commending the Police for their swift intervention, the aggrieved father described his late son as a respectful and intelligent boy with strong passion for football.
“He was a very good boy when he was alive. He was intelligent, respectful, and loved football. Even at his young age, he had football boots and was passionate about the game.” Jonathan said.