Update: Teenage Boy Shot by Imo Landlord While Retrieving Football Dies

The teenager who was shot by a landlord in Imo State for jumping into his house to retrieve a ball during a game of football on his school field has died.

Paul passed away at the Specialist Hospital, Umuguma, Owerri, less than 24 hours after undergoing surgery.

Paul’s guardian, Mr. Jonathan Odikanwa, a septuagenarian, told *Punch* that his ward died on Thursday afternoon, March 20, 2025.

The 16-year-old student of Urban Secondary School in the Area N, World Bank Housing area of Owerri, had jumped over his school fence to retrieve a ball that entered the yet-to-be-identified landlord’s premises on Monday.

However, the property owner took offense and shot Paul in the waist, leaving him to battle for his life in the hospital.

Odikanwa had appealed to the public on Wednesday to pray for Paul’s recovery as he was being wheeled into the operating theater to address complications with his bowel movements.

“He has passed away. My son has passed away. The doctors just said they lost him. Even after the surgery yesterday (Wednesday), we had been hopeful that he would come around. My boy who had lived with me for over seven years had passed on,” he wailed.