A father of six reportedly died after his gun accidentally went off, sending the Oloibiri community in Bayelsa State's Ogbia Local Government Area into mourning over the weekend.

The farmer and hunter, identified as Mr. Claude Tonworio by The Daily Post, was reportedly trying to carry his harvested farm produce from his canoe to the house when he reportedly had a Dane gun hanging around his neck. The gun accidentally went off, and he was discovered with head wounds.

He was reportedly getting ready to spend the weekend with his family on August 26 when the incident allegedly occurred.

According to a family source who spoke to the Daily Post, the deceased, also a civil servant, accidentally shot himself when he slipped and fell while packing his produce, leaving the Otobo family of Eguema and Ogbolobiri in the state's Nembe Local Government Area with pain and sorrow.

She said,” The whole community is still in shock over 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 them. He left the family on the farm with his farm tools and hunter gun to also hunt animals.”

“He usually goes in a canoe, where he keeps whatever is harvested. On Saturday, the 26th, he went the same way, so we were all waiting. He came back and was trying to bring in the farm produce. We heard a loud sound, but we didn’t suspect something had gone wrong. By the time people went outside, they discovered he was lying on the floor bleeding and struggling for survival with a shattered head from bullet wounds.

“All attempts to rush him to the hospital were not productive, as he died on the way. The corpse was later taken to the waterside for rituals, as the custom demanded.

“He must have slipped and fallen, so the gun that was loaded already exploded; it’s a sad incident for the family. Who will take care of the six children he left behind?”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Asinim Butswat, said the incident had yet to be reported to the command.