- The incident reportedly happened in Oloibiri Community in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State on August 26
- The middle-aged hunter killed himself with the gun he was hanging on his neck, locals say
One Claude Tonworio has reportedly committed suicide after killing himself with the Dane gun he used to hunt animals in the forest.
The incident happened in Oloibiri Community in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa state on August 26.
The death of Tonworio a farmer, who was also a hunter, has tossed the community into an abyss of despair and sorrow.
According to the locals, the middle-aged hunter killed himself with the gun he was hanging on his neck while trying to transfer his harvested farm produce with his canoe to the upland.
A family source told newsmen that the family suspected that the bullet exploded and blew apart the head of Tonworio, a father of six, who was also a civil servant.
She said: “The whole community is still in shock of his death. He is a civil servant but most weekends he comes to the village to stay with the family, and this Saturday was one of such. He left the family for the farm, with his tools and hunter gun to also hunt animals.
“He usually went in a canoe where he kept whatever was harvested. On Saturday; August 26, he went normal hunting while his family was waiting for his return. He actually came back and was trying to bring in the farm produce when we heard a loud sound. But we didn’t suspect something had gone wrong, until the time people went outside to discover that he was lying on the mud bleeding and struggling for survival.
“All attempts to rush him to the hospital were not successful, as he died on the way. The corpse was later taken to the water side for rituals as the custom demands.
“He must have slipped and fallen and the gun, which was loaded already, exploded. It’s a sad incident for the family. Who will take care of the six children he left behind?”