No fewer than seven houses and several vehicles were razed
by protesting youths of Oruku community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area
of Enugu State on Sunday following the killing of the traditional ruler, Igwe
Emmanuel Mba, by suspected operatives of the newly-formed police Special
Weapons and Tactics Team.
It was learnt that a combined team of soldiers, policemen,
and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had been deployed
in the community to restore peace.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspected SWAT
operatives, led by one Inspector Danladi, shot the monarch while he was
addressing members of his community at the town hall on Saturday and he bled to
death before he could get medical attention.
The policemen were said to have arrested one Mr Agozie Ani,
who was also at the meeting.
Community sources told our correspondent that the policemen,
who were in mufti and wielding AK-47 rifles, invaded the venue of the meeting
in an SUV and a Sienna around 2pm on Saturday, adding that immediately they
alighted from the vehicle, they moved into the hall and sought to see the
monarch.
They were said not to have disclosed their mission but
rather sought to see the monarch.
The policemen, according to one of the sources, were
escorted to the town hall by three natives of Oruku identified as Emmanuel
Nwobodo, Onyema Edeh, and Sunday Onunze, who also left with the cops in the
same vehicles.
They were reported to have come with the team and left with
the cops when the atmosphere turned bloody.
The source stated, “The traditional ruler was presiding over
the meeting and the three natives pointed at him; immediately one of the
policemen shot him on the thigh and he fell down and was bleeding.
“There was confusion after the monarch was shot. Everybody
in the hall ran for safety as the armed men started shooting in all directions.
Amidst the confusion, they made attempts to arrest some of those at the
meeting.”
It was learnt that the traditional ruler, who was elected by
his community on December 26, 2019, bled to death before he could get medical
attention.
Another source told our correspondent that the policemen
took the bleeding monarch and Ani to the Enugu State University Teaching
Hospital, Parklane, when they noticed that Mba was dying, but the hospital
refused to admit him and told the cops that there was no bed space.
“They were referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital,
Enugu, but on arrival, doctors at the Emergency Unit pronounced the monarch
dead.”
His corpse was deposited in the National Orthopaedic
Hospital mortuary, while the whereabouts of Agozie was unknown as of the time
of filing this report.
A former Chairman of the Nkanu East Local Government
Council, who hails from the community, Ejike Ani, confirmed the incident to
PUNCH Metro on Sunday.
Ani described the murder of the monarch as shocking and
unacceptable to members of the community and called for the arrest of the
policemen, who participated in the murder.
“Igwe Mba was murdered by men of SWAT from Abuja, who
stormed the venue of our annual December 26 meeting being presided over by the
deceased monarch,” he stated.
A community leader, Chief Eze Emmanuel, told our
correspondent that he and other leaders of the community went to make enquiries
at the state police headquarters to ascertain the identities and motive of the
assailants, but they were told that there was no such entry made at any police
station under the command.
As a result of the incident, aggrieved members of the
community reportedly regrouped on Saturday and started burning the homes of
some indigenes believed to be behind the murder.
The burning of houses continued till Sunday afternoon when
security agents were deployed to restore normalcy in the community.
Seven houses, including the compound of the father of a
retired federal Permanent Secretary, Chief Raymond Okenwa, were reportedly
burnt down.
Some vehicles parked on the premises of the affected
buildings were also set ablaze by the rampaging youths.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe,
said in a statement on Sunday that normalcy had been restored in the community
and that a comprehensive investigation had been ordered into the incident by
the Commissioner of Police, Ahmad AbdurRahman.
Ndukwe stated, “Following the acts of violence that occurred
in Oruku community, Nkanu East LGA of the state over the alleged shooting and
death of its traditional ruler by armed men suspected to be policemen on
December 26, 2020 around 4.30pm, normalcy has been restored after the
Commissioner of Police, Ahmad AbdurRahman, promptly ordered the deployment of
operatives of the command in the area and the launch of a full-scale
investigation into the incident.
“The commissioner, while reiterating his commitment to
meticulously investigate and bring the perpetrators of the alleged murder of
the traditional ruler and the ensuing acts of violence to justice, has called
on residents of the community to remain calm and eschew acts capable of further
inciting violence in the area, while the investigation lasts. He warns that anyone
found wanting will be made to face the full weight of the law.”
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