Arinze Odo, a 24-year-old young man, is still reeling from the trauma of a horrific incident involving operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Enugu, which led to the death of his friend, Daniel Isiwu, and left him with a gunshot wound in the neck.

The tragic event occurred on Saturday, May 17, 2025, as Arinze and his two friends, Johnpaul Echezonachukwu and Daniel Isiwu, returned to their base in Emene after shopping at the Ogbete main market.

What started as a routine outing turned deadly around 6:30 p.m., near a military checkpoint manned by Air Force personnel along Old Emene Road.

According to Johnpaul, who was driving their Mercedes Benz GLK, traffic had built up near the checkpoint.

While deciding whether to wait or reroute via the Express, a white Toyota Hilux van suddenly appeared at high speed and tried to double-cross their car.

Panicked and unaware of who was in the vehicle, he attempted to move closer to the checkpoint, still over 200 meters away, for protection. But the van blocked them, forcing him to reverse. Then, a gunshot rang out.

Narrating the ordeal, Arinze, who was in the front passenger seat, said:

“All I noticed was that someone with a gun jumped out of the car, and then there was this loud gunshot. I shouted ‘Jesus!’ as I felt a sharp pain behind the back of my neck. I touched it and felt something hard and hot lodged in there.”  

“In panic, I felt around it and managed to get a pinching hold on it and pulled. It came out, and I saw it was a bullet. I was like, I am hit! I am hit by a bullet! Then I felt the rush of blood flowing down my back, soaking my dress. I passed out.”

When he regained consciousness at the hospital, Arinze was devastated to learn that their 22-year-old friend, Daniel, who sat behind him, had died.

The same bullet had torn through Daniel’s neck, ripped through the headrest, and lodged in the back of Arinze’s neck, narrowly missing his spine.

Daniel Isiwu hailed from Ohodo in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State. He was an orphan and the elder of two siblings. Since 2012, he had been raised by his aunt, Sabena Ojekoma, after the death of his father, Victor. He also cared for his younger sister, 15-year-old Rita Chidimma.

“The man who killed my son has not told us why he took his life at his prime. His father died young. Now we have lost him too. I have lost a son.”

“The only offense Daniel and his friends committed was that they were young people in Nigeria driving a good car along the road. The world, Nigerians, please help me get justice for my son. That is all I ask for,” Ojekoma said.

Chidimma, Daniel’s younger sister and now the only surviving child of their late parents, wept as she tried to express her pain:

“Honestly, I don’t know. This is too much. Sir, the pain is just too much. All his plans and promises to me have gone like that. He didn’t joke with me as his only sister and sibling.”

“I can’t describe who he was and what he meant to me. Sir, this pain is too much. At least our father was sick before he died. What did my brother do to the man who killed him?

“I am sure he has a son or at least a brother, too. How would he be feeling if it were his son or brother that someone shot dead like that?”

Eyewitnesses said that after the shooting, the NDLEA officers searched the vehicle and found nothing incriminating before fleeing the scene.

The Police later arrived and with assistance from passersby, rushed Arinze to the hospital and took Daniel’s body to the mortuary.

When contacted, the spokesperson of NDLEA, Enugu Command, Calista Mmeka said they are investigating the matter to ascertain if their officers were involved in the shooting.

However, a police source told our correspondent that the NDLEA officers are currently detained at the Enugu State Police Criminal Investigation Department, where investigations are ongoing. The officer who allegedly pulled the trigger has also been singled out among them.

The grieving family now waits anxiously for justice. But will it come, or will this tragedy join the list of unresolved cases of extrajudicial killings in Nigeria? Only time will tell.