Elders of Umunnaka village in Isieke, Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State accused of terrorism have appealed to the governor of the State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetoku, to come to their rescue, alleging that their lives were in danger....For More READ THE FULL STORY▶▶
It was gathered that some of the elders were recently arrested and handed over to the military by the local vigilantes on allegations of terrorism and sponsorship of unknown gunmen.
The military, however, later released the community elders at the intervention of their lawyer, Mr Louis Ejike Danielson of Pathfinder Attorneys, Nnewi.
The elders who made the appeal were Chief Romanus Asoegwu, Chief Anthony Ndianefo, Chief Titus Nwakanigbo, Chief Julius Chukwuemeka and Chief Reginald Ibekwe all of Umunnaka in Isieke, Okija.
They said their ordeal and threat to life were not unconnected to a land matter they won which they said had made the people who lost in the land case to decide to be their sworn enemies for no just cause.
In a petition sent to the traditional ruler of Okija, Igwe Emeka Nnamdi Okezie through their lawyer, the elders alleged they were abducted by the vigilante operatives.
“Our clients were abducted from their homes at Umunnaka, Isieke, Okija in the night between Midnight and 1:00 am in the morning of July 9, 2024 by masked men who later identified themselves as operatives of the Okija vigilance group.
“They came in a convoy of more than ten vehicles in a Gestapo style. Our clients were stuffed into the boots of the security vehicles and whisked away to the office of the said vigilance group at Okija.
“Around 5:00 am in the morning, the operatives of the said vigilance group came to our clients and told them that they would be killed eventually but not by them but by military men in Onitsha.
“The vigilance men drove our clients who were kept incommunicado to the Army Barracks in Onitsha where they were handed over to the men of the said military formation and informed them that our clients were the unknown gunmen who had been terrorising Okija and (its) environs.
“Our clients were kept and detained at said military formation from July 9, 2024 until July 12, 2024. Our clients were thoroughly grilled by the investigating team of military men throughout that time. They were taunted as “unknown gunman.
“After the drilling by the investigating team, our clients were found to be innocent and were ordered to be released to the Okija vigilance group for onward transition to their respective homes at Isieke, Okija,” the petition read in part.
According to the petition, it took the intervention of the elders’ solicitors, the fair-mindedness of the commander of the military cantonment and some well-meaning indigenes of Okija to secure their freedom from military detention.
“The allegation against our clients,” the petition continued, “was that they were harbouring unknown gunmen in a large portion of the land which they won as judgement-creditors in Suit No. O/33/88: Ozoma Obioha & Ors V. Ndukwe Asoegwu & Ors.on which judgement was delivered on the 24th day of February, 2021 by an Anambra State High Court sitting at Aguata Judicial Division,” it added.
The said elders who later spoke to our reporter are in their 90s and 70s. They wondered why their names should be associated with terrorism when their duty as elders had been to ensure peace and stability in their domain. They, therefore, appealed for the urgent intervention of the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter and Governor Soludo to save them from the hands of their accusers.…For More READ THE FULL STORY ▶▶
