A 44-year-old man, Benedict Chukwu, was allegedly shot dead by his younger brother during an argument in Elele-Alimini in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Trouble started when the deceased younger, Patrick Chukwu, 40, blocked a space where the former was about to pack his motorbike in their family compound.
Former General Secretary of Elele-Alimini Community Development Committee, Ambassador Joseph Asomeji, confirmed the incident to newsmen.
Asomeji said the deceased and the suspect were his cousins, even as he expressed sadness over the incident
He stated, “Both of them are my cousins. The issue was that the elder brother, the late Mr Benedict Chukwu, came home from his daily hustling to the family house where both of them live.
“The younger brother Mr Patrick Chukwu used chairs to block access to where Benedict Chukwu was to carry his motorbike and cross.
“The late elder brother pleaded with the younger brother to allow him access to pass with his bike inside the family house where both of them are living, the younger brother refused to remove the chairs that were blocking the road.
“Angrily, Mr Benedict used his legs to kick the chairs out of the way, then the younger brother picked up a wedge to hit the elder brother.
“But neighbours came out and removed the wedge from his hand. The younger brother went inside again and picked up a machete, the neighbours gathered him and collected the machete from him.
“As if that was not enough, the younger brother ran inside again and brought a hunter’s gun and fired immediately at the elder brother’s neck, killing him instantly.”
While noting that the matter has been reported to the police, he said the deceased younger sibling took to his heels immediately after committing the crime.
“The incident is condemnable. We don’t know what came over him to have committed the offence.
“The fact remains that both of them are bloodily related. They are of the same parents. We condemn the act. Somebody who commits a crime must have to face the law,” he stated.
When contacted, the spokesman of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko confirmed the incident.
She said that “the command was aware of the incident and investigation was ongoing. That is all I can say”