Gunmen kill French tourist in Ebonyi

Armed men have attacked and killed a French tourist in Ebonyi State.

The man, Nagnan Denis, 52, and his wife, Nagnan Mee Lavaud Liana, 53, were on Monday night attacked by gunmen within Abomege axis of Onicha local government area of the state.

The attack led to the death of Denis, who was shot on the leg and macheted on different parts of his body, until he lost consciousness and died on the spot.

The wife sustained injuries.

The State Governor, Dave Umahi, disclosed this in a meeting with staff and students of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki.

According to him, the tourists got to Abaomege in Onicha Local Government Area of the state in the night from where they were to connect travel to Calabar, Cross River State. He said they later went into the bush to set up their tent to have rest.

“As they were having their rest, gunmen stormed the area and shot them. The gunmen took 1,169 Euros of their money and N13,000,” Mr. Umahi said.

“Sad enough, they shot and killed the husband of the woman. The corpse has been deposited in the mortuary.

“The wife was so devastated. What we did was to put her in hotel accommodation and give her some money.

Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Maigari Dikko, said 32 suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

He said they have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, (SCID) for further interrogation and prosecution where necessary.

According to him, the wife of the victim who reported the incident to the police Division in the area, said through an interpreter that she will be able to identify the people who killed her husband if she saw them.

“We got the report yesterday from the DPO of Onicha LGA about the French nationals, a couple; they were tourists who left their country on December 2014 and arrived Nigeria through Badagry on 3rd of May, that is last Saturday.

“They passed through Abeokuta, Benin, Onitsha, Enugu to Ebonyi with their vehicle with one door with Caravan on it; they were passing through Ebonyi to Calabar when the incident happened.

“They arrived Abomega in the night and decided to spend the night there; according to the deceased wife, her husband had complained that he was tired and secondly it was night.

“As fate could have it, they didn’t report their presence to any law enforcement agents around, but decided to look for a place that was naturally endowed with shelter, a place that has tree and so they went two kilometres off the road to pass the night in a location near the bush.

“They found a location where we have a quarry site and decided to camp there; unfortunately, I believe that as they were going there that they were seen. And according to the wife of the deceased when they were at the location, a motorcyclist together with another man asked to know who they were.

“Unless investigation proves otherwise, we are thinking that the motorcyclist was the informant to the hoodlums; after an hour he left, three people came in a car and by then they had already erected their tent on top of the vehicle.

Mr. Dikko, who noted that the Police Headquarters including the French Embassy had already been communicated over the incident, added that the deceased was shot by the hoodlums during an argument as they further inflicted machete cut injuries on him.

He stated that arrangements were on to ensure that the deceased whose body had been deposited at a mortuary in Enugu state was transferred to France without delay even as he stressed the readiness of the command to clampdown on the activities of miscreants in the state.

Credit: Premium Times