*As some youths allegedly attack community leader, supporters.
It was a reign of machete attacks at Ngwongwo community, in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, at the weekend, as some youths allegedly led by one Anthony Nwadankwa and others from Okwe community inflicted machete cuts on supporters of the community leader, Kelechi Ochuba.
It was gathered from some of the victims who were hospitalized at the Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, that they had gone to the community Chairman’s house to know why the violent youths stormed the chairman’s house on Sunday morning when people had gone to church and killed his goat and made away with his newly bought Kymco motorcycle under the pretence that he fought with his wife and should be fined.
The Voice scooped that the remote cause of the attack wasn’t the fight, rather power tussle over who takes control of the affairs of a Quarry Company in the community.
According to Aroh Orji Victor, they went to their chairman’s house on getting the information that some youths invaded his house, stressing that the chairman left for the police station to report the incident.
“We were there when he came back and was about telling us what happened at the police station when some youths from Okwe and Ngwongwo stormed the chairman’s place and started attacking us. Some youths from our community led by Anthony Nwadankwa went and hired some youths from Okwe community to come and fight us. We were taken unawares because we thought police would handle the matter when the chairman reported it.
“In our community, if a man fights with a fellow man, they will pay fine and it is chairman of the youths that will come for the fine, not ordinary persons. And what the chairman and his executive do is to ask him to pay fine of N5,000 not to kill the persons goat or carry his motorcycle, but once the fight is between a man and his wife, it’s a family matter and we don’t interfere”, he stated.
Aroh insisted that some prominent men in the local government are sponsoring the youths that attacked them. Stating that the same group has been terrorizing the community because of the quarry company on Ngwongwo land.
“When issues came up regarding the site, some Okwe youths said they were also connected to the land. We told them that when mineral resources leave a community to another community, that it’s those in the second community that can at their mercy wish to carry the previous community along. Since then, the group has been disturbing us in the company, to the extent they came and chased us away from the company and was even saying that government cannot do anything because their sponsor is the one giving government directives on what to do.
“Because of that, I no longer go to the company for two months now, sometime, even our people that were employed by the company, they chased them away so all of us came down to the village to face our farms and other businesses.
“Before now, government officials came and survey the land because they were claiming that Crush Rock’s land extended to the Sino Chino land. Government officials came and carried out a survey and beacons were placed, but the same group from Okwe came and removed the beacons and the DPO in Ishiagu, is not helping matters”, he narrated.
While another victim, Aja Paulinus Ezeikel, said they got a phone call telling them to come to their community leader’s place, Mr. Ochuba, that some youths invaded his house and made away with his motorcycle and killed his goat.“On getting there, chairman had already left for the police station, we were there when the chairman came back and wanted to narrate what happened to us, but some group of youths stormed the chairman’s house with machetes and other weapons including gun.
“They used axe and plywood with nails and designed my body. On my back it was axe they used, while the wound on my leg was inflicted with nail and plywood. We didn’t retaliate; rather, we had to flee for our safety.
“They destroyed over 60 pieces of plastic seats that the chairman uses for meeting as well as his shop, even the father’s tailoring machine’, he noted.
Adding that they were attacked by over 100 youths from Ngwongwo, and Okwe allegedly led by Barr. Uka.
It was gathered that the DCO came with other policemen to the incident scene to know what really happened and during the attack they had to run for their own safety.
“When police came, they said since we have involved the police they will kill us all in the presence of the policemen and nothing will happen. The DCO was there and when he saw that things had gone out of hand he left, Aja added.
He reiterated that the remote cause of the recent attack was the Pioneer Sino Chino Quarry Company in the area, stressing that he has been working in the company as a task force official, and that some Okwe youths have beaten him up severely and even destroyed some of his properties including setting ablaze his wives shop five months ago.
Another source from the community said that the SA to the Governor on Solid Minerals gave directive that all the parties involved should steer clear form the company pending when peace returns and a committee was set up to that effect.
“The commissioner of police also gave the same directive, but the Okwe youths and Barr. Uka led group allegedly flouted the order”, he stated.
Adding that Commissioner for Boarder Peace gave the same directive “But they flouted the order, the SSG also did the same thing that is the one we are facing now, and they still said who is government, that they have a superior power. It was from the company issue that they entered into community affair, chairman having problem with the wife. The primary cause of the attack is the quarry company not really the fight between chairman and his wife,’’ he added.
While on his part, Mr. Igwe Ejike, noted that the Uka led group is in opposition to the chairman of the community.
He also maintained that the main cause of the attack was the Sino Chino Company, adding that the youths have been destroying things in Ngwongwo community, that some of Okwe youths destroyed the health centre built in the area, and also destroyed things in their town hall.
He said that the Okwe community has its own chairman while Ngwongwo has its, but wondered why some youths from Okwe came to Ochuba’s house and killed his goat and took his motorcycle.
“They don’t have the right to fine our own chairman; we have vice chairman and secretary. Anytime there is fight between youths in the community, it’s only the youths of Ngwongwo that go to collect fine not external body. And how we do it is that if it’s when company supplies us electricity, we will just go and remove the peoples fuse, and when they come to meet us we will make peace between the two people but if it is robbery, we will hand such person over to the police, in all these instances, no outside was involved in settling the matter.
“But this time around, our chairman didn’t do anything, he didn’t fight with the secretary as they later claimed” he stated.
Igwe called on government to intervene on the issue as it is going out of hand.
The community Treasurer, Livinus Egbe, said some youths from Okwe have been terrorizing them, stressing they went and had agreement with Sino Chino, yet Ngwongwo youths ignored that.
He said that the claim that the chairman fought with his secretary was a fat lie, yet the group went and destroyed the chairman’s property.
The treasurer pointed out that those who witnessed what happened and told them that it was wrong were given serious injuries by the violent group.
He noted that the group has been planning evil against the chairman, revealing that the chairman bought some motorcycles that he wanted to distribute but was waiting for the problem with the company be resolved before distributing the motorcycles, “I think that was the issue” he added.
Egbe said some youths in the community who are against the chairman hired some youths from other communities to come and help them fight the chairman and his supporters.
Also, interacting with The Voice, Chukwuma Aroh, whose wife’s shop was destroyed narrated that the group was going about the street chasing people away, destroying peoples shop and his wife’s shop was affected.
He said on that faithful Sunday, when he came back from the church, the chairman called him and narrated how some youths came and killed his goat on the claim that he fought with the secretary and “he told them they didn’t fight. It wasn’t even the executive of the youths that came, but one ‘harmless’ that came with the youths. The chairman said in the process of killing the goat, they destroyed his motorcycle, and he reported the matter to the police, then DPO and Inspector Crime invited the other group to come and explain what happened. On getting there the DPO said you people should go and settle since the community chairman didn’t fight why not let peace reign. He said that the police were coming to see the place. I had to call the DCO when I came back from church and he said the same thing the chairman narrated.
“Meanwhile on their way back, the two groups started fighting at the Amagu side. After the fight they came back home but they the Barrister’s group had to call our neigbouring community to give them support, that was how they came the second time and started attacking those that were taken to Abakaliki for treatment.
“The worse is that if you report to Ishiagu police here they won’t do anything, day before yesterday, the same group was using gun and knife, going house to house destroying people’s things.
He maintained that trouble started when the group got information that the state government has inaugurated a caretaker committee that will take over the affairs of the quarry company, hence the group will no longer have power to collect money from trucks that load in the company.
“They are chasing people away from the company and this thing has paralyzed business in Ishiagu now, instead of loading hundred trucks a day its now below 50 trucks” Aroh added.
When contacted, Barrister Ukah, told The Voice that he was at the church when the incident happened and that he received a phone call from one of the youths and was told that the chairman fought with his wife and secretary and the youths came and took his motorcycle to the police.
He said on their way back from the police station, the chairman’s group ambushed them and his group had to go for reprisal which resulted to the attack.
He said he was not aware of any goat killed and that he was saying what he said was told as he wasn’t at the scene of the incident.
Dankwa said police was handling the matter and that they were invited to come on Thursday for the remote cause of the attack.
In her reaction, the state police public relations officer, DSP Loveth Odah, said that five persons were arrested and that those quizzed include the chairman of the community, the secretary, Barrister Nwadankwa and Nnaemaka Ezenta.
Odah noted that Barr. Nwadankwa and Ezenta were bailed as suspects while the Chairman and secretary of Ngwogwo community were released as complainants. Both parties are to produce members of their groups for interview on Thursday November, 14.
She said that; “They said the community has a conventional law that whosoever default must pay fine. The argument is that one faction was claiming that there are two factors of the law which said when defaulted, they should kill the defaulters goat and eat, while the other group said no, that the law said that when defaulted both parties will pay fine of five thousand naira each and one carton of beer. And after the judgment, anybody at faults pays while the other person’s money will be refunded.
“So they said the chairman beat up the wife but they are alleging that the secretary fought with the chairman too on a different occasion. The matter is village politics so we are leaving them to go home and resolve it internally and if they can’t settle, we will enforce the law, “she stated.
