An Imo State septuagenarian, Mr Jonathan Odikanwa, has called on people to join him in praying for the survival of his son, who a neighbour allegedly shot. The teenage boy was reportedly shot when he tried to retrieve a ball from another person’s premises in Owerri last Monday.
Paul, about 16 years old, is a student of Urban Secondary School in Area N, a World Bank housing area in Owerri. He jumped over his school fence to retrieve a ball that had entered another person’s premises.
However, the property owner allegedly got offended and shot Paul in the waist, leaving him to battle for his life at the hospital.
Paul’s father, Jonathan Odikanwa, when accosted at the hospital while he was running helter-skelter to get blood for the surgery on his son yesterday, said he was just concerned about his son. He did not want to escalate the issue.
The businessman said, “I have heard you. Thank you for coming to interview me. However, I don’t want to escalate the issue for now. I want my boy to survive this critical period.
“The x-ray showed that there is no bullet in his body, but doctors are wondering why his bowel movements are not working. He is scheduled for surgery for them to look into his stomach and see what is going on there.
“So, for now, I earnestly want you and everyone else to join us and pray for him to survive. He has been crying for water, but the doctors are trying to find out what is causing the problem with bowel movements. I know he is in pain, but until after the procedure and the success, I do not want to say anything. Just join us and pray for my son to survive.”
Paul, though not a biological son of Odikanwa, has lived with the Odikanwa couple for about eight years, from where he began schooling and is currently in JSS 1 at Urban Secondary School Owerri.
Police Public Relations Officer for Imo State Police Command, DSP Henry Okoye, has confirmed the incident and the arrest of the property owner who shot the teenager.
Okoye said, “Yes, the man has been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing. The victim is currently receiving treatment at the hospital”.
LEADERSHIP reports that neighbours of the arrested landlord who were at the hospital said the schoolboys were in the habit of looting properties under the guise of retrieving balls.
