Anyone who knows Pharm. Alex Uzo Onyido, ‘Pal’ as he is fondly called, knows that he is a man of integrity, peace and love who cannot even kill a fly not to talk of killing his own brother as claimed by the agents of disunity in Uruezealor community. As an indigene of Ogidi who hails from the said community, I am compelled to drop this article of actual facts to let the world know the origin of this case, what transpired and eventual incident that led to the untimely death of the fellow whose video is going viral in social media recently.
This saga started a decade ago when the issue of sharing our community land (Ogbor land) arose. Basically, the Uruezealor community is made up of five kindreds namely: Umu Ndaa, Umu Odogwu, Umu Eji, Umu Nnebo and Umu Ezearo. Umu Nnebo where HRM Chief Pharm. Alex Uzo Onyido, Igwe Ogidi, hails from happened to be more in population than the remaining four kindreds put together. Whenever there is community levy for developments, funeral ceremonies, court litigations and other things, it is usually shared generally among all the whole members of the community, i.e. per head. As such, Umu Nnebo always generate about 70% of the entire levy. Now, when the issue of sharing of the community land arose, it was expected that the land will be shared in the same manner levies are shared. Surprisingly the four kindred joined forces against Umu Nnebo and demanded that the land will be shared into five portions, each for one kindred. This brought disagreement among the community members. All the efforts to have amicable resolution on this issue proved abortive till date.
Alben Healthcare Industries which happens to be one of Igwe Ezechuamagha’s companies usually make use of some portion of the said community land adjacent to the company’s premises for temporal dumping of damaged pet bottles and other wastes from the factory. At this junction, I will like to state categorically that this act wasn’t done by Alben Healthcare Industries alone. Other people, both Uruezealor indigenes and other residents in the community also use the land temporally. Some dump refuses, some cultivate parts of land while others raise temporal structures like shops and sheds over the years. Yet, Uruezealor as a community never raise an eye brow or stop all these temporal usage of the land. Why then does it become an issue against Igwe Ezechuamagha’s company? A company that employed almost 50% of the entire population of the community. This is because the owner of the company is from Umu Nnebo kindred who they (Aka Ama Ino) have penciled down as an enemy all because his kindred did not agree for the land to be shared in a way and manner the opposition kindreds wanted it.
THE FACTS OF THE MATTER
On 21st September, 2019, some youths from the four amalgamated kindred (Aka Ama Ino) stormed the site of refuse dumping of Alben Healthcare Industries and destroyed an ongoing culvert being constructed by Igwe Ezechuamagha on government road across a drainage channel (not in Uruezealor community land) without any prior notification to the company either by writing or sending of emissaries. This disrespectful and atrocious act got HRM Igwe Ezechuamagha annoyed and he demanded that the damaged culvert be repaired for him. That even if the community does not want his company to continue in the usage of the land, they ought to have meet him one on one as his fellow brothers and make their demand known that going about it that way is a display of taking laws into their hands.
After weeks of waiting, there was no response from the erring group, he decided to report the matter to police. Knowing that police is coming for him, Benedict Obide (the Chairman who led the destructive visit to Alben Healthcare refuse dumping site) ran away from Ogidi on 26th of February, 2020 only to return at the demise of his mother. Having no option, he submitted himself to the police where he was held. His gang of miscreants staged a protest to the police station demonstrating that their leader be released to them, if not, that they are going to set the station ablaze (there is a video in social media to support this incident. The deceased fellow, Chike Okoye Odu is the one in that video wearing sea green colour ‘up and down’ cloth)
HRM Igwe Ezechuamagha, in his usual magnanimity, intervened and the young man was released. He came back and addressed his cohorts on their forward ever decision of perpetrating nuisance and disunity in Uruezealor community. (There is also a video coverage to back this narration).
As a result of that radical protest and the subsequent threat of burning down the police station by the group, police vowed to arrest all the culprits and bring them to book. This led the police to visit the residence of late Chike Okoye Odu, who sighting the police, tried to escape by jumping across his compound fence. Being asthmatic, he developed a crisis and managed to crawl to a nearby compound in a bid to escape from the police, who never even saw him in the first place. The woman Chike crawled into her compound is available to testify that Chike wasn’t thrown down from up stairs by police as it is being claimed by some unscrupulous elements in their evil minded videos going viral on social media. All these are aimed at scandalizing the reputable name of a noble, peaceful and loving man, HRH Chief Pharm. Alex Uzo Onyido, Igwe Ezechuamagha of Ogidi kingdom, who has the interest of his people and his town at heart at all time.
The woman in question was even the person that called Chike’s brothers who took him to the hospital. Unfortunately, the young man died. Therefore it is worthy to note that Igwe Ezechuamagha who was busy with Nwafor Ogidi festival as at time of this incident, never sent any police to arrest late Chike Okoye. The arrest visit of Nigerian police to late Chike Okoye’s residence was purely police affairs with the youth who staged an unlawful protest to the station of which some have been arrested and also released. The act of dumping the corpse of the young man at the gate of the palace of HRM Igwe Ezechuamagha is just because he reported the case to the Nigerian police, as such, he is responsible for the death of the young man as claimed by the unguided youths of Aka Ama Ino. This shameful display was stage managed to drag the name of an innocent and peaceful man to the mud. Let us therefore desist from pursing of shadow and pursue the real object which is the truth. Ogidi! Ekenee m unu.
