A Nollywood actor has been saved two times from the cold hands of death after being hit by stray bullets from a trigger-happy policeman.
Charles Okocha and the hospital where he is being treated
Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha is about the luckiest person on earth, and very grateful to James Louis Okoye, an event manager and chief executive of Jalou Events Limited, who twice helped to save his life.
Okocha’s incredible run of good luck began on December 27, when a drunken policeman pumped a fusillade of bullets from an AK47 rifle into his stomach at a traditional wedding ceremony, held in Uruagu, Nnewi, Anambra State. The hail of bullets also hit another person, Sam Belonwu Dim, a Lagos-based businessman, who died on the spot.
Doctors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra State performed surgery on him, but the stomach later burst, allegedly because the wrong surgical material was used. But the prompt and cool-headed reaction of Okoye in the hospital once again saved the actor’s life, according to Sun News.
The twice lucky actor is now recuperating following the corrective surgery that was still done at NAUTH, though the tertiary hospital debunked the allegation of improper handling of the case.
Okoye, who mobilized other people to save the actor’s life, recounted to Sunday Sun reporter what transpired on the fateful day: “I am not just worried but I’m mad about what happened as we tried to save Okocha’s life. I was at Danduko’s house on December 27, 2015 for the traditional wedding of his daughter. What really happened was that the trigger-happy police officer saw an actor he recognized and in excitement he said, ‘Look at this my guy, let me throw one in air for him (meaning to give him gun salute).
"As some people said, he was drunk and apparently forgot that he had previously set the gun on rapid fire. His intention was to fire one shot into the air. He pulled the trigger, but could not control the gun again because up to eight or nine bullets flew out. The bullets hit two people, Sam Belonwu Dim and Charles Okocha. But I didn’t see the other guy (Sam) and there was a noise at the other end."
Charles Okocha maybe discharged soonest as his recovery process has been on course.