A 2-year-old baby, Ivan Onose Omhonrina was shot dead and his younger brother, Eromonsele, sustained injury during a raid on a notorious drug joint by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Delta State.
According to Daily Trust, the kids were shot at their mother’s shop when NDLEA operatives raided the drug joint at Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of the state on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
An eyewitness account had it that the victims were in their mother’s shop after school hours when they were hit by stray bullets.
The witness said a stray bullet brushed Eromonsele on the eye while Ivan was hit on his abdomen.
He added that the victims were rushed to the FMC for surgery, adding that Ivan could not survive it.
The Delta State Commandant of the NDLEA, Mr. John Tunde, who confirmed the incident, however, insisted that his men did not open fire on the kids.
Tunde explained that when the operatives of the command stormed the notorious drug joint to raid and dislodge the place, there was a Toyota Camry parked within the precincts.
According to him, while the operatives were surrounding the place, a Camry car “ran over one of our men while escaping. And in attempts to demobilise the car, our men shot at it.
“What we cannot tell now is whether the children were inside the car at the time of the shooting. Our men did not open fire at any shop. As we speak now, our man, who the car ran over is at the Central Hospital in Ogwashi-Uku,” he stated.
“Our attempt to stop the car was not successful as he escaped. So I can confirm that it happened but this is the true account that I have told you, we can’t be that unprofessional to open fire on a shop. I was at the hospital in the night with the father of the child. We are investigating it.”
Meanwhile, activist Comrade Isreal Joe, said a successful operation has been carried out on the injured sibling.