By Our reporter
Youths of Akaeze community, Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State, have destroyed houses and other valuable properties in the area over the torture to death of one of their kinsmen, Nnaogo Akpoke Anyim allegedly by members of Ebubeagu security operatives in the state.
It was gathered that the victim was accused of stealing a bamboo from the community and was arrested by a team of Ebubeagu in Ivo LGA.
The youths, however, accused the Ebubeagu security outfit of masterminding the murder of the victim, Anyim, who according to them, was last seen tied and kept close to a security van while Ebubeagu operatives were seen beating him with axe and other dangerous weapons.
It was gathered that the irate youths went on rampage on Sunday, took to the streets to protest the murder of their colleague and started destroying properties worth millions of naira in the community.
The youths, angered by the development, set some houses belonging to the council chairman of Ivo LGA, Mr. Onyebuchi Ogbadu, and other valuable properties worth millions of naira on fire.
A reliable source that hailed from Akaeze community, told newsmen that: “There’s an uprising in Akaeze. Youths attack Ebubeagu and everyone implicated in the recent gruesome murder of someone in Akaeze. Nnaogo Akpoke Anyim was murdered yesterday 18/01/2022 by the members of Ebubeagu security outfit in Akeze ivo LGA, Ebonyi State.
“Ebubeagu operatives killed a youth in the area. The Akaeze youths after their meeting went peacefully to the Chairman of Ivo to ask him to assist them in producing the killer of the victim.
“The practice by the youth is a normal thing but the chairman escalated the incident, which led to the youths taking laws into their hands".
According to another source in the community said, the genesis of the crisis, was a land dispute between the deceased Nnaogo and one Engr Ajuomeiwe over a piece of land. However, Chief Jerry Obasi, a Chief from Akaeze, said that while the deceased Nnaogu was of the PDP, Aju Omeiwe was of the APC.
"The Ebube Agu which was apparently invited by the APC chieftain tortured the PDP Nnaogo to death"
"The gruesome murder of Nnaogo, according to Obasi provoked the youths of the community who took to the streets this Sunday marching in protest to the house of the chairman of the Council.
Continuing, Obasi said, quoting an eyewitness, "the primary cause of the inferno was as a result of a minor disagreement between one Nnaogo who happens to be a PDP member and one Engr Ajuomiwe an APC member.
" Incidentally members of the Ebubeagu who are of the APC arrested & brutally totured the PDP Boy to death".
"The gruesome muder of Nnaogo, the PDP man, caused anger and outrage in the entire community of Akaeze in Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State, he said. "As we speak there are lots of wounded persons lying crically helpless in different hospitals in Akaeze and neighboring communities." He said.
On his part, the Traditional Ruler of Umuihe autonomous community, HRH Umazi Ubani said the crisis was politically motivated. According to him "on Tuesday I went for operation, I returned on Wednesday, I heard that somebody used machete to chase somebody returning from his farm, with motorcycle, he butchered him first in the hand, and the second one on the leg, the boy fell from the motorcycle.
"A passer by going to the farm, who saw the incident, returned and reported to men of Ebubeagu what he saw on his way, Ebubeagu now went to their place and reported to their people what happened, I leant that their people were the ones that reported to Ebubeagu that the boy had returned, the boy in question is a bad boy, one, he is a thief, he use to steal people's things and if he's stealing your thing and you come, he would chase you, he has use machete to cut people the previous year,
"Ebubeagu went to Carry him, and they said he pointed at one of them and said he's the next person to be killed, they now started beating him, and used axe to cut him, I am a traditional ruler and I have nothing in my cupboard, what you are going to hear from me is nothing but the truth, I must say that they beat him the way they were not supposed to, because using weapon to cut somebody on investigation is not proper, cutting his penis is not proper, the worst is after everything, they went and put it on the internet, and when it was posted on the net, some politicians rode on it and started this problem.
"When I heard it I carried myself with the bandage on me, I went to see the deceased family with a cartoon of beer as our tradition demands that I should go with wine, I went to beg them that we should settle it amicably. One, two of them are from the same family, the man that was macheted and the one that died, the family agreed, but told me that his elder brother said we should not discuss anything until he comes back.
"I invited the other family that their son was matcheted, they told me that they are from the same family, I called a meeting with my chiefs and the whole chiefs from that kindred came, we agreed on Thursday, I told them to go to the deceased family and apologize to them, which of course they told me that they went, on Friday I called another meeting, In the morning and they said the deceased brother had not returned, I told them to use town crier and inform everyone in the community to come to the playground for us to settle it out, but they said they would go to the deceased family themselves to find out if his elder brother is back, and they said he said he was coming in the evening, but he didn't come, the same thing happened on Saturday, and I said we don't have to wait for him again, on that Saturday, they used the town crier and gathered the villagers in a place we called Amiyi, in Azaeze ukwu, a different community from where this thing happened, nobody informed me of that town crier, which of course they were supposed to inform me, if they had informed me they wouldn't have gathered there because it's not the proper thing, because tradition demands that when such a thing happened, the elders and the traditional rulers and the leaders of that village would gather together and discuss about it,
"I can say that the elder brother of the deceased was making arrangements with politicians on how to worsen this problem, and yesterday morning I heard they gathered at Amiyi, I saw group of boys singing they wanted to enter my palace, but they passed, the first building they destroyed belongs to one Ebubeagu boy called Olinda, they destroyed his house and burnt everything, they went to Ifeanyi Ejem's house, destroyed and burnt it, they destroyed his two buildings and burnt everything in them, they went his father's house and burnt the cars parked there, they went to Nwafuruzo's house and damaged everything in his place, they went another person who is close to the chairman and also burnt his house, they went to the Chairman’s filling station and burnt it down, they also went to his house and burnt everything, infact I was helpless, I called the DPO and area commander, which of course I was reaching Chairman, who said he called the Commissioner of police, I called our brothers whom we have blood relation with from Enugu, their two traditional rulers came with other people, because whatever happened here if they come, the fight will stop, no matter how bloody, they were the people that stopped it,
"The problem as I told you, had it been that Ebubeagu did not post that thing on the net, their opposition political party couldn't have used the opportunity to cause this, I am seeing it as one of the mistake, and they were supposed to take that boy to the police station, the people that sponsored this this thing did not do well, because this is politically motivated".
When contacted the PPRO Ebonyi State Command DSP Loveth Odah who confirmed the incident condemned the torture of the suspect which led to his death.
She said Anyim was tied hands back and tortured with axe by some operatives of the security outfit in the area for alleged robbery, molesting women sexually and other alleged crime.
The PPRO said some victims of the Anyim’s attacks are at the state police clinic receiving treatments.
“Nobody has a right to take a life no matter the offence the person has committed. The police in totality condemn jungle justice, self help, brutality of any kind”, she said.
Post a Comment