Posted on: 01:21 Tue, 18 Oct 2016

Father of the Shooting Stars' defender, has revealed how his son was allegedly shot dead by security operatives who must have mistaken his son for a militant in Okaki Village of Rivers State.




We reported yeterday that the Nigerian Professional League club, Shooting Stars FC, announced that the club's central defender, Izu Joseph has been confirmed dead after he was hit by a stray bullet in Bayelsa State on Sunday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with
Daily Sun, the father of the slain Shooting Stars’ defender, Pa Joseph, has revealed how his son was allegedly shot dead by security operatives who must have mistaken his son and his friends for members of a militant group at a jetty in Okaki Village, Ahoada West LGA of Rivers State where the player and four of his friends were shot dead.

In a telephone chat, father of the deceased revealed that Izuchukwu was home for the holiday after the end of the 2015/2016 Nigerian Profession Football League and went out with his friends on Sunday evening.

Izu, who was caught in a friendly fire was in the pool swimming with his friends and had to run for cover, but was fished out alongside his friends, where they hid themselves.

“I learnt that my son pleaded with them and was asked to identify himself and despite doing so, he was shot together with his friends and the most painful thing was that they took his phone and recorded him while he was still writhing in pain till he was about to give up the ghost.”

Also speaking with a Punch's correspondent, the deceased's father disclosed on the telephone on Monday that his son had gone to their hometown in Okaki to check on his wife before he met his untimely death.

“He was in Okaki with his wife before he died. He had planned to come to Port Harcourt where I live with his daughter.

“He went to the jetty area where we usually swim to have a quick shower on Sunday. It was while he was there that the men of the JTF raided the place and everybody ran helter-skelter, including Joseph.

“When the soldiers saw them running they began shooting sporadically and one of the bullets hit Joseph in the leg. As he was groaning with pain, one of the JTF men walked up to him and shot him a second time at a close range despite Joseph’s plea that he was a footballer on holiday in Okaki.

“His mobile phone and identity card were seized from him and we have not been able to retrieve them till now. The soldiers didn’t allow anybody to help him until he lost a lot of blood. After they left, he was taken to the hospital where he died due to loss of blood.”