Wilson Okereke, Afikpo
The police in Ebonyi State are nonetheless making an attempt to unravel the circumstances that led to the brutal homicide of 1 Azubuike Oko Inya, a 46-year-old father of 4 at Amankwo village in Nkpoghoro neighborhood of Afikpo North Native Authorities Space of the state.
A former Commissioner for Border Peace and Battle Decision within the state, Chief Donatus Ajah, a.okay.a Zentus, was on June 18, arrested by the lads of the state police command over his alleged involvement within the homicide of Inya.
Each Ajah and Inya hail from Amankwo village the place a misunderstanding had allegedly erupted among the many folks of Azu Ukwu Ewa within the evening of 22nd Could 2020, ensuing to Inya’s loss of life.
Battle for supremacy
Residents stated the skirmish was triggered by supremacy battle between two factions locally. The 2 teams had been stated to be loyal to a former Chairman, Interim Committee of Amankwo Eziukwu Welfare Affiliation, Ifeanyi Obila and the previous Commissioner, Ajah.
The previous Commissioner’s group was alleged to have oppressed folks within the space notably these within the behavior of difficult their opinions within the village. It was gathered that the suspected killers had stormed a pub within the village and attacked some villagers; inflicting machete cuts on them, a scenario that triggered anxiousness and pandemonium locally.
Inya, on listening to the cries of the folks on the pub, was stated to have rushed to the scene and begged the attackers to cease what they had been doing. It was at that time that the hoodlums pounced on him; giving him a number of machete cuts till he died.
Individuals within the space alleged that one Ifeanyi Ogbonnia Chukwu, a identified ally of Ajah, perpetrated the heinous act. A resident, Pastor Emmanuel Nwachukwu whereas giving background details about the incident stated that disunity brewed locally in the direction of the tip of final yr after Ajah had singlehandedly given out their communal land to a telecommunication firm for use for the set up of mast with out the consent of different villagers.
In keeping with him, Ajah allegedly collected over N2million however introduced the sum of N700,000 to the neighborhood as cash for 5 years lease. Irked by what they perceived as beneath hand deal, the neighborhood rejected the N700,000 and dragged each Ajah and the corporate to court docket.
“After Hon Donatus (Ajah) had instructed us concerning the enterprise, we requested for both Memorandum of Understanding or duplicate of the cheque given to him however he stoutly refused to supply us with any and having discovered that he was not clear within the deal, round January, 2020, we instituted litigation in opposition to him and the corporate,” Nwachukwu stated.
Following the place of Ifeanyi Obila and one other outstanding indigene of the world, Titus Obila, who had insisted that correct account be rendered, the previous Commissioner felt aggrieved and allegedly incited his supporters in opposition to his opponents. They’d allegedly threatened that hell could be let lose within the space if the matter was not withdrawn from court docket.
Pastor Nwachukwu additionally stated that after Ajah and his cohorts discovered that the folks within the rival camp weren’t moved by their warning, they went additional and erected some lockup retailers on the entrance of Titus Obila’s compound as payback for his adamant place on the problem.
He added that some stakeholders reported the matter to the police and the native authorities city planning authority after they sensed the upcoming hazard related to the unlawful building. The city planning authority visited the positioning and condemned the development of the lockup retailers on entry method. They got here again some days later and demolished the construction.
Saturday Solar was additional instructed that it was after the demolition that Ajah’s supporters allegedly invited into the neighborhood numerous hoodlums believed to be members of a cult group who began attacking members of the opposing camp one after one other. It was within the course of that Inya was killed after that they had inflicted severe machete cuts on Mr Emmanuel Eluu and others.
Ifeanyi Obila’s brother, Joel, corroborated the pastor whereas Titus Obila, a surveyor from the neighborhood, added that it was after Ajah found he (Titus) was among the many plaintiffs in one of many fits in opposition to him that he determined to witch hunt him by erecting the unlawful construction on the highway to his compound.
“Since 2018, Hon Donatus (Ajah) had been doing all manners of wickedness to frustrate our efforts from acquiring justice till lately when he influenced some individuals in opposition to others within the village which has price the lifetime of Mr Azubuike (Inya)”, Obila, the surveyor stated.
Joel claimed that the killers’ goal was his brother: “When these folks got here and couldn’t discover my elder brother, who I believe was their goal, they began attacking everybody there and folks had been working helter-skelter. That was when Azubuike Inya got here from the village. He pleaded with them to not do such a factor, as a result of it was not good. They attacked him and killed him with their machetes.”
Ex-commissioner denies involvement
Ajah, nonetheless, denied the allegation of incitement or having a hand within the killing, claiming that he was not round when the incident occurred. He additionally stated that the accusation of misappropriation of neighborhood fund levelled in opposition to him was masterminded by mischievous individuals who couldn’t confirm data earlier than they’d start to rant.
Chatting with our correspondent on phone, he stated: “I used to be not at house in the course of the incident however based mostly on the report from eye witnesses, it was established that the deceased returned from Cross River to kill however sadly he acquired killed from his co-supporters. As I’m speaking to you now, some individuals whom Mr Azubuike had injured earlier than his demise are presently mendacity critically sick within the hospitals.”
On the allegation of misappropriation of N22m, he instructed Saturday Solar that the homeowners being members of Azu Ukwu Ewa Welfare Union had withdrawn and made use of their cash including that there have been resolutions and different paperwork to that impact.
Ajah claimed that he was not a part of the individuals who negotiated the mast set up slightly it was accomplished by some individuals that had been at house then. He added that he was thereafter chosen by the villagers to signify them; an task he did wholeheartedly with out attaching curiosity.
He additional defined that the development of the retailers was a collective effort of all male adults who levied themselves to determine a supply of revenue to the village however surprisingly Ifeanyi Obila allegedly used the place of his spouse who was then vice chairman of Afikpo North LGA and demolished the property.
He reiterated that each one the allegations in opposition to him had been false and merely orchestrated to tarnish his good picture which he had constructed for years. “It was the identical Ifeanyi Obila, who began telling those who I had a hand in Azubuike’s loss of life. I consider God is the giver and taker of life and can all the time disappoint Ifeanyi and his cohorts, who really feel that they’ll solely be glad in the event that they hear that I’m lifeless,” the previous commissioner alleged.
Police react
At Afikpo, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Nwenyim Livinus instructed Saturday Solar that there was a killing within the space however that he lacked the mandate to talk to the press, therefore, he referred this reporter to the State command headquarters, Abakaliki, the place the incident was confirmed.
Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Loveth Odah, who additionally confirmed the arrest of Ajah, added that the suspect was apprehended for his alleged involvement in Inya’s loss of life. “Sure, he (Ajah) is in custody. We’re nonetheless investigating the matter,” Odah said.
In the meantime, Saturday Solar findings point out that the suspect was launched after being detained for about 48 hours as a result of the police stated they might not proceed protecting him in custody.
They might not arraign him since all of the courts within the state had been shut for about two weeks on the directive of Governor David Umahi because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Police, nonetheless, have assured that the previous commissioner could be charged for homicide as soon as the courts resume.
Supply: www.sunnewsonline.com
