Ex-Custom Officer kills self in Abia

The sleepy community of Ngwaiyiekwe in Ugwunagbor local council of Abia State was on Saturday stricken with shock when a retired custom officer, identified as Mr. Eke Nweke allegedly took a locally made pistol and shot himself.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that Nweke, who is said to be a native of Item in Bende local council Area of the state died before he could be taken to the hospital.

Though it is not  yet clear why Nweke had to commit suicide, rumours making the rounds  in the community have it that the ex Customs man had attempted a failed suicide in Port Harcourt , Rivers State before he was relocated to his in-law's house in Ngwaiyiekwe community.

He was said to have been relocated to his in-laws house in the community to ensure that he would be closely monitored to avoid a repeat of the failed suicide incident.

According to a resident of the community, around 4am, we heard a loud noise and because there was no light at that time, we could not rush out. But we all stayed awake listening attentively.

Shortly afterwards, we heard wailing coming from their end.  We came out and saw the man dead in the pool of his blood.

The source added that the deceased left no suicide note leaving his in-law's household bemused as they could not understand what led Nweke into killing himself.

The only thing they (the family) told us was that the man caught them by surprise. They said the man went out while other members of the family were sleeping and shot himself.

They said it was the sound of the gun that woke them up. Our correspondent learnt that the pistol has been handed over to Ugwunagbo Police Division under whose jurisdiction the incident took place.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Abia State Command, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna was unavailable for comments. However, a Police officer at the Ugwunagbor Division confirmed the incident.

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