The youth of the Umulogho community in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State reportedly set fire to a portion of a hotel building following the alleged killing of staff member, Ebuka Nwaneri.

The incident arose from accusations of Nwaneri stealing a phone belonging to a military personnel during the weekend.

A source from the community, who spoke to The Nation, disclosed that the deceased was allegedly locked up in a generator house, with the intention of compelling him to confess to the alleged theft.

According to the source, the victim eventually died from the alleged torture and the suspects purportedly disposed of his body by tossing it over the hotel’s fence into the adjoining bush.

However, youths in the community later discovered the corpse on Saturday morning, forcefully entered the hotel premises and set fire to a section of the building.

They also made it clear that if the hotelier was not brought to justice for the incident, they would retaliate against his family members.

Another community source, Chimezie Mbakwe, who affirmed the incident, called on the police to move the case from the Otoko Divisional Police Station, where the suspect is in custody, to the headquarters to prevent mob violence.

Addressing the community’s youths, the Youth President, Chinagorom Cyriacus, emphasized the importance of remaining calm and assured them that all individuals responsible would be brought to justice.

Cyriacus said: “We also want to assure the good people of Umulogho that the perpetrators of this inhuman act must be brought to book at all means.

“We also want to urge all more importantly the youths to stay calm and not to take further action or take laws into their hands.

“We want to assure the people that the leadership of Umulogho Autonomous Community at all levels are working so hard to arrest the situation more especially the ongoing massive arrest by the military.”

A credible police informant disclosed that the Imo Police Command has taken charge of the escalating situation in the troubled community.

The Army Public Relations Officer, Joseph Akubo, stated that an investigation is underway to determine if any soldiers were involved in the incident.

He emphasized that any soldier displaying signs of indiscipline would not be shielded and would face consequences if found guilty, reiterating that the army has no involvement in the matter and that those found culpable will be held accountable.