16-year-old hawker beheaded in Awka

By Ibiene George 

Recent occurrences in Anambra state seem to be giving people in the state cause to worry, as a 16-year-old hawker was allegedly beheaded by unknown men on Wednesday, August 29, 2012.

Sources report that the victim, Nwanneka Odah, was hawking groundnut along Nawfia- Awka road close to Nawfia Comprehensive Secondary School, when three young men  approached to buy her wares.

Eyewitnesses claim Nwanneka bent down to sell the groundnut for her supposed customers, when the one standing closest to her brought out an axe like object and swiftly struck her head.

The suspects were said to have fled into a nearby bush, leaving the girl, whose head was severed, dead.

Nwanneka’s murder comes on the heels of the kidnap of a branch manager of an undisclosed bank, Tochukwu Nnadi, also in Awka.

The incident, which happened at about 7.00AM on the same day, has left other bankers in fear and confusion.

Nnadi was kidnapped on his way to work. So far, his abductors haven’t contacted his family or made any ransom demands.