“Christmas Day, a season meant for joy, laughter and family togetherness, became the darkest day of my life. Instead of celebrating, I watched as my 32-year-old only child was snatched from me.”

This was the lamentation of Mrs. Chinyere Emeagi, whose only son, Amauche Ezeji, was shot dead by a yet-to-be-identified gunman at about 8pm on December 25, 2025, in the Askaka Road area of Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The deceased, according to his mother, had taken his pregnant wife to his grandmother’s home for the Yuletide celebration.

Narrating the incident, Mrs. Emeagi, who is yet to come to terms with her son’s demise, said: “Amauche Lucky Ezeji, was my only child, my hope and my future. He only wanted to do what any responsible husband would do: drop his pregnant wife at his grandmother’s house so the family could celebrate together.

“We were all together when he received a phone call. He told us he would be back shortly and rushed out. That was the last time I saw my son alive.

“Moments later, I was told that my son had been shot along Askaka Road. When I got there, he was lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the chest at close range. People were screaming, others were running in fear, and the person who killed my son had already disappeared into the night.

“We rushed him to the hospital, praying that God would save him, but the doctors said he was dead. In that moment, my world collapsed.

“Amauche was not just my son; he was my only child. I have no other son or daughter. Worse still, he was supposed to bury his late father on January 7, 2026. Instead of preparing for that burial, I am now preparing to bury my only child alongside his father,” she stated in tears.

Meanwhile, the Delta State Police Command confirmed that an investigation into the killing has commenced.

Police sources at the Utagba Ogbe Division, where the incident was reported, disclosed that preliminary information indicated that the deceased might have had an argument with some unidentified young men at a pub shortly before the shooting, which allegedly occurred as he was leaving the premises. (Vanguard)

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