•Over 20 people killed as properties worth over N50 million are destroyed
Enugu—Enugu State governor, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has intervened in the crisis which rocked Ogbo Eze North Local Government Area of the state over the extra judicial killing of Chibueze Uramah by members of the Aji Neighborhood watch for allegedly buying dome stolen drugs from a hoodlum.
But reacting to the killing, the people of Ogrute where Uramah hailed from embarked on violent vandalization of property belonging to Aji indigenous people and in the process, destroyed property worth over N50 million.
In recent times, IgboIgbo-Eze North Local Government of Enugu State has witnessed an upsurge in criminal activities. The flash points include Okpo, Amaja, Aji, Imufu and Umuida communities among others. Although, the crimes recorded in the communities are not proportional, those mostly in the news include Aji, Isiugwu and Amaja. Aji topped the list of those killed with over 20 victims.
Some people were killed in Okpo for alleged ritual purposes, while a couple was killed in Amaja for allegedly giving information which led to the rescue of a kidnapped person who was tied to a tree in a tick forest. The recent killing of Charity Ngozi Eze by dome rapists in Imufu caused a lot of anxiety in the community.
However, the case of murder and extra judicial killing in Aji has las lasted for over 10 years, leading to demonstrations by the Catholic Women Organization, CWO, and the Aji Liberation Organisation, led by Professor John Eze at one time or the other.
The killing of over 18 indigenous people in Aji, however did not attract serious reactions, even as hell was let loose Saturday morning following reports that Uramah, a chemist whose shop was at the nearby Imufu Community was abducted and killed by members of the Aji Community’s Vigilante group, otherwise known as Aji Neighborhood Watch.
Late Uramah was accused of receiving some stolen drugs from a native of Aji, an offence he flatly denied.
However, the neighbourhood watch members were said to have tortured the deceased by breaking his anckles with a big rod kept in their torture chamber even as he pleaded innocence and asked that his life be spared.
His killers were said asked for N30, 000 to spare his life which he paid before being.killed.
Indigenous people of Aji who spoke on the incident said that killing of innocent people by the vigilante group in the community was not new.
Okwudili Uramah a.k.a Ejanayaigwe, said he was tortured for going to recover his stolen electric generator from the neighborhood watch people at Aji described the members as “selected armed robbers,” just as another tipper drover, Tochukwu Adonu lamented that he was beaten to stupor for trying to know the reason why one Sunday Ossai was being flogged by the neighborhood watch members on May 23——three days before Chibueze Uramah was murdered.
Other people from Aji community who spoke to South East Voice said that extra judicial killings started in the community some time around 2012.
According to them, the issue reached a climax when the Catholic Women Organization, CWO, demonstrated against the killing of innocent people by members of the vigilante group on July 30, 2012, but nothing was done to punish the killers by security agents and other stakeholders.
Records sighted by South East Voice showed the women who were led by their Chairperson, Mrs Amaka Urama carrying placards which then read, “As mothers, we condemn killings, Stop bloodshed in Aji Community, Bad eggs in Aji should leave Aji land, Aji land is sacred and it is abomination to kill someone in Aji,” among others.
According to the CWO then, Uche Nwaossai was killed and thrown into a family water tank, while Festus; Idoko and one A. Ndubisi were hacked to death within same period.
They said however, that the killing had not abated since then, lesding the Aji Liberation Front to follow uo later with a news conference in Enugu, naming 13 people who were killed in the community without the perpetrators being fished out and punished.
As thousands of aggrieved people from Ogrute people protested against the murder of Chemist Uramah, many of the protesters complained that some criminals who were recruited into the Aji Community Neighborhood watch had brought the security outfit put together by the state government to help the police reduce crimes to the barest minimum to ridicule, wondering why security agencies had not lived up to their billing by investigating and bringing the culprits to book.
In the mayhem that followed the reprisal attack by Ogrute youths, properties worth over N50m were, destroyed by Ogrute youths at both Ogrute snd Aji.
Soldiers and other security agents guided the youths as they trekked from Ogrute to Aji through Imufu Community, a distance of about five kilometers, had a hectic time trying to control the unruly crowd.
Among those who were said to have been killed in Aji Community included one Ofoma Itodo, Osita Ugwuanyi, who hailed from Isiugwu but grew up in Aji,; Cecilia Ijah, Nwa John Perewu and Uche Nwossai.
Others included Festus Idoko, one A. Ndubisi, Okwudili Uramah, Eugene Odo Nwidenyi.
The state Police Commissioner, Suleiman Balarabe, inspected the destroyed properties at both Aji and Ogrute along with the chairman of Igbo-Eze North local government, Uwakwe Ezeja, at about 1.30 pm Saturday.
Apparently angered by the death of Uramah, who was allegedly abducted from his shop and killed by Aji vigilante group for allegedly receiving stolen drugs from a suspected thief, the Ogrute youths mobilized and unleashed mayhem on Aji people, burning cars, houses and destroying shops in the process.
The Vice Principal of Aji High School, Michael Adonu, whose wife’s shop was vandalized by the protesting youths said, “Something went wrong yesterday. When I returned from school, I saw somebody dead already. I was told that the Ogrute youths were threatening to come for reprisal attack over the killing of Chibueze Uramah, by Aji vigilante group. I had to run away for my dear life.
“About 30 minutes after coming back, I saw this arson on my wife’s shop. The cartons of beer we stocked here were destroyed and chairs broken to pieces; everything was destroyed,” he complained.
Also, over 10 shops were destroyed and all the goods stocked inside them evacuated outside and destroyed, at Aji just as a Volkswagen Golf saloon car was burnt to ashes in front of Adonu’s house. The security house of Aji neighbourhood watch where Chibueze Uramah was said to have been tortured to death was put torched even as over 30 motorcycles kept inside the burnt building were destroyed beyond recognition.
Furthermore, two houses belonging to one Adonu family people living close to the security house were also brought down and set ablaze by the protesting youths.
A community member (name withheld) who narrated his experience to Sunday Vanguard revealed that one Okwudili Apejah, a member of vigilante group clubbed the deceased to death when he was brought to Aji by other members of the vigilante group.
He added that the entire Aji community were not happy with the killing of Chibueze Uramah, stressing that all the neighbourhood watch members on duty when the late Uramah was killed should be sanctioned appropriately.
The Ogrute youths who stormed Aji, to demonstrate their anger over the murder of their kinsman told Vanguard that Urama was the fifth person killed by some criminals from Aji, adding that enough was enough.
“The Aji people killed Onyishi Eze Nwonu, Okey Onu Urama, Festus and now Chibueze Uramah. We demand justice. We will kill any Aji man or woman found in Ogrute unless the people produce all those who killed Chibueze,” the youths threatened.
The traditional ruler of Aji Essodo Community, Igwe Simeon Osisi Itodo could not be reached for his comments on the issue but he was
among other stakeholders in the community who signed a Save Our Souls, SOS, message to the then state Commissioner of Police on December 20, 2012, demanding investigations into serial killings in Aji, but the matter is yet to abate, seven years after.
Others who signed the SOS then included Prof John Eze, Prince Ogbonnaya Itodo, Mr John Abugu, as well as then President General of Aji Town Union, Engineer Thaddeus Urama, among others.
However, Governor Ugwuanyi called a meeting of stakeholders including traditional rulers and chairmen of neighborhood watch groups from the disputed communities and sued for peace between the belligerent communities.
He also set up a reconciliation committee find lasting solution to the extra judicial killings in Igbo-Eze North, even as he lamented the level of destruction in reprisal attacks.
Enugu—Enugu State governor, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has intervened in the crisis which rocked Ogbo Eze North Local Government Area of the state over the extra judicial killing of Chibueze Uramah by members of the Aji Neighborhood watch for allegedly buying dome stolen drugs from a hoodlum.
But reacting to the killing, the people of Ogrute where Uramah hailed from embarked on violent vandalization of property belonging to Aji indigenous people and in the process, destroyed property worth over N50 million.
In recent times, IgboIgbo-Eze North Local Government of Enugu State has witnessed an upsurge in criminal activities. The flash points include Okpo, Amaja, Aji, Imufu and Umuida communities among others. Although, the crimes recorded in the communities are not proportional, those mostly in the news include Aji, Isiugwu and Amaja. Aji topped the list of those killed with over 20 victims.
Some people were killed in Okpo for alleged ritual purposes, while a couple was killed in Amaja for allegedly giving information which led to the rescue of a kidnapped person who was tied to a tree in a tick forest. The recent killing of Charity Ngozi Eze by dome rapists in Imufu caused a lot of anxiety in the community.
However, the case of murder and extra judicial killing in Aji has las lasted for over 10 years, leading to demonstrations by the Catholic Women Organization, CWO, and the Aji Liberation Organisation, led by Professor John Eze at one time or the other.
The killing of over 18 indigenous people in Aji, however did not attract serious reactions, even as hell was let loose Saturday morning following reports that Uramah, a chemist whose shop was at the nearby Imufu Community was abducted and killed by members of the Aji Community’s Vigilante group, otherwise known as Aji Neighborhood Watch.
Late Uramah was accused of receiving some stolen drugs from a native of Aji, an offence he flatly denied.
However, the neighbourhood watch members were said to have tortured the deceased by breaking his anckles with a big rod kept in their torture chamber even as he pleaded innocence and asked that his life be spared.
His killers were said asked for N30, 000 to spare his life which he paid before being.killed.
Indigenous people of Aji who spoke on the incident said that killing of innocent people by the vigilante group in the community was not new.
Okwudili Uramah a.k.a Ejanayaigwe, said he was tortured for going to recover his stolen electric generator from the neighborhood watch people at Aji described the members as “selected armed robbers,” just as another tipper drover, Tochukwu Adonu lamented that he was beaten to stupor for trying to know the reason why one Sunday Ossai was being flogged by the neighborhood watch members on May 23——three days before Chibueze Uramah was murdered.
Other people from Aji community who spoke to South East Voice said that extra judicial killings started in the community some time around 2012.
According to them, the issue reached a climax when the Catholic Women Organization, CWO, demonstrated against the killing of innocent people by members of the vigilante group on July 30, 2012, but nothing was done to punish the killers by security agents and other stakeholders.
Records sighted by South East Voice showed the women who were led by their Chairperson, Mrs Amaka Urama carrying placards which then read, “As mothers, we condemn killings, Stop bloodshed in Aji Community, Bad eggs in Aji should leave Aji land, Aji land is sacred and it is abomination to kill someone in Aji,” among others.
According to the CWO then, Uche Nwaossai was killed and thrown into a family water tank, while Festus; Idoko and one A. Ndubisi were hacked to death within same period.
They said however, that the killing had not abated since then, lesding the Aji Liberation Front to follow uo later with a news conference in Enugu, naming 13 people who were killed in the community without the perpetrators being fished out and punished.
As thousands of aggrieved people from Ogrute people protested against the murder of Chemist Uramah, many of the protesters complained that some criminals who were recruited into the Aji Community Neighborhood watch had brought the security outfit put together by the state government to help the police reduce crimes to the barest minimum to ridicule, wondering why security agencies had not lived up to their billing by investigating and bringing the culprits to book.
In the mayhem that followed the reprisal attack by Ogrute youths, properties worth over N50m were, destroyed by Ogrute youths at both Ogrute snd Aji.
Soldiers and other security agents guided the youths as they trekked from Ogrute to Aji through Imufu Community, a distance of about five kilometers, had a hectic time trying to control the unruly crowd.
Among those who were said to have been killed in Aji Community included one Ofoma Itodo, Osita Ugwuanyi, who hailed from Isiugwu but grew up in Aji,; Cecilia Ijah, Nwa John Perewu and Uche Nwossai.
Others included Festus Idoko, one A. Ndubisi, Okwudili Uramah, Eugene Odo Nwidenyi.
The state Police Commissioner, Suleiman Balarabe, inspected the destroyed properties at both Aji and Ogrute along with the chairman of Igbo-Eze North local government, Uwakwe Ezeja, at about 1.30 pm Saturday.
Apparently angered by the death of Uramah, who was allegedly abducted from his shop and killed by Aji vigilante group for allegedly receiving stolen drugs from a suspected thief, the Ogrute youths mobilized and unleashed mayhem on Aji people, burning cars, houses and destroying shops in the process.
The Vice Principal of Aji High School, Michael Adonu, whose wife’s shop was vandalized by the protesting youths said, “Something went wrong yesterday. When I returned from school, I saw somebody dead already. I was told that the Ogrute youths were threatening to come for reprisal attack over the killing of Chibueze Uramah, by Aji vigilante group. I had to run away for my dear life.
“About 30 minutes after coming back, I saw this arson on my wife’s shop. The cartons of beer we stocked here were destroyed and chairs broken to pieces; everything was destroyed,” he complained.
Also, over 10 shops were destroyed and all the goods stocked inside them evacuated outside and destroyed, at Aji just as a Volkswagen Golf saloon car was burnt to ashes in front of Adonu’s house. The security house of Aji neighbourhood watch where Chibueze Uramah was said to have been tortured to death was put torched even as over 30 motorcycles kept inside the burnt building were destroyed beyond recognition.
Furthermore, two houses belonging to one Adonu family people living close to the security house were also brought down and set ablaze by the protesting youths.
A community member (name withheld) who narrated his experience to Sunday Vanguard revealed that one Okwudili Apejah, a member of vigilante group clubbed the deceased to death when he was brought to Aji by other members of the vigilante group.
He added that the entire Aji community were not happy with the killing of Chibueze Uramah, stressing that all the neighbourhood watch members on duty when the late Uramah was killed should be sanctioned appropriately.
The Ogrute youths who stormed Aji, to demonstrate their anger over the murder of their kinsman told Vanguard that Urama was the fifth person killed by some criminals from Aji, adding that enough was enough.
“The Aji people killed Onyishi Eze Nwonu, Okey Onu Urama, Festus and now Chibueze Uramah. We demand justice. We will kill any Aji man or woman found in Ogrute unless the people produce all those who killed Chibueze,” the youths threatened.
The traditional ruler of Aji Essodo Community, Igwe Simeon Osisi Itodo could not be reached for his comments on the issue but he was
among other stakeholders in the community who signed a Save Our Souls, SOS, message to the then state Commissioner of Police on December 20, 2012, demanding investigations into serial killings in Aji, but the matter is yet to abate, seven years after.
Others who signed the SOS then included Prof John Eze, Prince Ogbonnaya Itodo, Mr John Abugu, as well as then President General of Aji Town Union, Engineer Thaddeus Urama, among others.
However, Governor Ugwuanyi called a meeting of stakeholders including traditional rulers and chairmen of neighborhood watch groups from the disputed communities and sued for peace between the belligerent communities.
He also set up a reconciliation committee find lasting solution to the extra judicial killings in Igbo-Eze North, even as he lamented the level of destruction in reprisal attacks.
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