TheCable

Reuben Joseph, father of Izu Joseph, the ‎Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan defender who was killed on Sunday, says the killing of his son was a deliberate act rather than the accident it has been painted as.

Izu was holidaying in his home town of Okaki, Rivers state, when he was reportedly hit by a stray bullet from the Joint Task Force (JTF).

However, father of the deceased told TheCable that the JTF intentionally murdered him.

“It was not a stray bullet; they shot him face to face,” Pa Joseph told TheCable on phone in an emotion-laden voice.

“They shot him the first time, we thought it was a stray bullet. When they came closer to him, they shot him again.

“They did not come for anything but decided to kill my son for fun. He was even showing them his identity card that he was a football player.

“They shot at him again. They came to kill my son purposely but I don’t know why they had to do this to me.”

Joseph’s last-minute winning goal against Nasarawa United in Week 26 was one of the goals that helped 3SC escape relegation in the just concluded NPFL 2015/16 league.