By CHUKS EKE
Ogidi community, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra state,
is a boiling sequel to the alleged death of a youth leader, Chike Okoye,
who was trying to evade police arrest when the police stormed his
Umueze Alor village, to arrest him and others over a land issue
between the community and the Traditional Ruler, Igwe Pharmacist Alex
Onyido.
The incident which coincided with this year’s Nwafor Ogidi annual cultural
festival of the Ogidi community, occured Thursday evening at the commencement of the when the
week-long festivities..
When the news of the death of the youth leader filtered into the ears
of the people of Umueze Alor village, Ogidi that one of their sons has died
in a bid to escape police arrest and that scores have already been
arrested by the police, the people ran amok, made straight to the
house of the deceased to pick his corpse but the corpse had been
deposited earlier at the Iyi-Enu Mission hospital morgue, Ogidi.
They then made bone fire with used tyres, barricaded the ever-busy
Onitsha-Enugu old road and made straight to the morgue brought the
corpse and rushed to the palace of the monarch where they deposited it and dispersed.
Addressing newsmen on the incident, the Chairman of the village who
led the protesters, Mr Obidi Benedith, flanked by his vice, Nonso
Agbata, (a.k.a. Inwelle Ogidi) said that, “the cause of this death was
the community Ogbor land which the monarch built culverts upon and
started encroachment without our consent”
“So on asking why such should be done, he started arresting those who
are out to oppose him, including myself, the deceased, my vice and
others”
“We have dumped the corpse in his palace and demanded that he should
release those he arrested, stop encroaching on our land and arresting
us before the corpse will be removed”
“It was the police that the monarch sent that held him as he was about
to evade the arrest in his house and was pushed down from the one
-storey building and he died”, he revealed further.
Prior to their departure, the monarch who was represented by a High
Chief, Ugochukwu Okwosa Owelle, urged them to soft-pedal that as
brothers the death has happened and as such should be amicably
settled.
“You should see it that the death has happened and what we need now is
solution for a peaceful settlement as brothers”
“What you people are doing now is worsening the situation, I plead
that we discuss as brothers for the good of us all”, he pleaded.
His plea fell on deaf ears as they left him with the corpse and
minutes later, the President General of the Community, PG, High Chief
Chuka Onubogu, stormed the palace and took the corpse back to the
morgue.
He described the incident as unfortunate and urged the bereaved to
take heart as it was not an intentional act.
“It is unfortunate and we have to take heart as it was not intentional
and no body arrested the deceased nor beat him up from what I was
told. He fell down as he was escaping as I was told but autopsy will
tell the cause of his death”
On the part of those still under detention, he said that, “they will
soon be released, I have talked with the CP and he assured me that
they will be released immediately”
