A recent attack in Rivers State’s Igbo-Etche community has left residents in shock and mourning. Gunmen killed a local man, Okere Samuel, a father of four, and abducted a businessman named Sunny Onuenze. The incident took place in the Army Range area of Igbo-Etche, part of Etche Local Government Area.

Okere Samuel worked as a generator mechanic and was from Ofeh in Omuma Local Government Area. The kidnapped man, Sunny Onuenze, is known for trading in scrap metals in a market at Mile 3, Port Harcourt.

According to Samuel’s wife, Peace, he came home from work on the evening of Saturday, October 26. He stepped out briefly to pump water and told her he’d be going for a short walk. He asked one of their children to prepare water for his bath, saying he’d be back soon.

Moments later, Peace heard gunshots coming from a nearby street. Worried, she quickly moved her children indoors, hoping her husband was hiding and safe. She tried calling him repeatedly, but though his phone rang, he did not answer.

As neighbors gathered, news spread that another resident’s husband had been kidnapped. Peace waited with her children until midnight, hoping her husband would come back. By dawn, she and her sister began searching around their home. Tragically, they found his body in a nearby field.

The local police from the Igwuruta Division arrived to investigate, and Samuel’s body was later taken to a morgue. Peace now faces the challenge of raising their four young children alone, and she is urging authorities to find her husband’s killers.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers have reached out to Onuenze’s family, though it’s not clear if they’ve demanded a ransom.

This tragedy reflects a growing concern over safety in Rivers State, and the community is calling on the police to bring those responsible to justice.