Football match turns bloody in Ebonyi as police kill, injure fans

A football fan known as Obinna Igwe has been shot dead while two others sustained bullet wounds following fracas involving some policemen and a football team at a match in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

DailyTimes reports that two police officers were also injured during the incident.

The football match which was between Ndufu Alike and Ndufu Echara teams was the final of a Unity Cup competition organised by the Chairman of Ikwo Local Government Area, Elder John Nnabo at Urban Secondary School Ndufu Echara.
Eyewitness told DailyTimes in Abakaliki that trouble ensued when the Centre Referee issued a red card to an Ndufu

Alike player which eventually resulted in his team conceding a goal in the second half.

According to the eyewitness,the development did not go down well with the dismissed player as he returned to the pitch and launched attack on the centre Referee along with other players on the bench.

The eyewitness alleged that the incident resulted in a rampage by some youths of Ikwo who almost had a showdown with the police if not for the intervention of some public office holders in the area.

One of the stakeholders, Mr Onyekachi Nwoba condemned the use of live ammunition by the police pointing out that their action was not in line with rules of engagement.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO) of Ebonyi State Police Command,Mrs Loveth Odah alleged that the fan was killed when the rampaging youths attempted to snatch a rifle from one of the policemen.

Mrs Odah explained that normalcy had returned to the area as the Commissioner of Police in the state,Mr Titus Lamorde, had deployed more policemen to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order.

DailyTimes further gathered that the remains of the dead fan has been deposited in a mortuary while those injured are receiving treatment at hospitals.