Ex Customs 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 (victim's) 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.