An eye witness who is not identified claimed that the defender showed men of the JTF his ID card before he was shot.
An eyewitness has claimed that Izu Joseph showed men of the Joint Task Force his identity card before he was shot and killed.
Joseph who played for Nigeria Professional Football League(NPFL) side died on Sunday, October 16 after he was shot by men of the JTF in Rivers State.
Izu Joseph was killed by men of the JTF on Sunday, October 16 (NPFL)
The Army insist that the defender was killed when a patrol team raided a cultist hideout at Okarki community, in the Ahoada West area of Rivers State.
Conflicting accounts have since trailed the circumstances that lead to the death of the defender.
An eye witness who is not identified claimed that the defender showed men of the JTF his ID card before he was shot.
The eyewitness claimed that she saw the JTF men shoot a guy in the leg during the raid.
“I was peeping from the window and I saw that a particular guy has been shot in the leg,” the woman told Channels TV.
The unidentified witness claims Izu Joseph showed his ID card before he was killed (Channels )
According to the woman, the JTF men asked an already injured Izu what he was doing at the cultist shrine and the defender told them that he was a footballer and innocent of any crime they suspected at that time.
“He brought his ID card and showed them, they looked at it and confirmed that he was a footballer, but they still shot him” the woman added.
Another unidentified witness who claim to be a cultist said he was with the late footballer when the JTF men raided the cultist shrine.
“Izu himself was inside the ghetto when one of the guys alerted us that the JTF men are coming,” the man said.
“We all fell into the water and Izu ran away”
Also speaking to Channels TV, the leader of the Okarki community, HRH Elijah Oduan does not have sympathy for Izu, as he has warned the people to stay clear of that area.
The Okarki community leader HRH Elijah Oduan says he has warned his people to stay away from that area (Channels )ALSO READ: Izu’s death is a dark chapter in Nigerian football
“I have moved around this community and destroyed that place so it is unfortunate that whoever might have fallen victim, should take it with good faith,”Oduan said.
Brigadier General Hamisu Hassan in a press conference on Tuesday, October 17, revealed that the Shooting Stars defender was killed when a patrol team raided a cultist hideout at Okarki community, in the Ahoada West area of Rivers State.
Brigadier General Hamisu Hassan says Izu Joseph was killed in cultist den (Channels TV)
“The troops moved in and raided the suspect criminal hideout. One person lost his life at the hideout while others fled,” Hassan told newsmen.
Joseph’s father, Reuben Izu claimed that his son went to Okarki was shot twice at close range by men of the JTF.
The Army says a formal report will be presented at the end of the investigation.
Izu Joseph featured regularly for Shooting Stars last season (Twitter)
Joseph was a figure at the back for Shooting Stars as they finished 14 in the just concluded season. He scored two goals.
