By Izunna Okafor, Awka
No fewer than two persons were shot dead while one other was hospitalized on Tuesday in Anambra community, following a land dispute that ensued between original owners and a suspected gang of land grabbers.
The bloody violence happened at Okpuno-Okochi in Okpuno Village, Awka South Local Government Area of the State, and also reportedly culminated in destruction of property by some aggrieved youths of the village whose kinsmen were killed and injured.
Recounting his ordeal, one of the survivors who was shot during the incident and Chairman of Osonari Family, Nze Ekene Obiora, said the disputed land was part of their ancestral lands, known as Osonari Family Land, which the family unanimously reserved for building residential homes by male adult members of the family. He explained that a portion of the land is assigned to an adult member of the family upon request when he wants to build a residential home, adding that some members had already been assigned portions to build on.
He, however, recounted that strange fencing and farming activities were recently observed on a portion that was assigned to some members of the family, Chinedu Obiora, and Ikechukwu Nweke, who said they were not aware of the people behind the activities.
According to him, on Monday, June 2, while some family members were monitoring activities on the land, they saw some strange faces carrying out farming activities on the said portion of land. He said when the family members approached and interrogated them, the people said someone gave it to them to farm on it.
“They asked them who gave them the land, but they couldn’t explain, which made them to order the people to stop work. The people who saw these farmers are members of the Osonari Family and had informed them already that the land belongs to members of the family, and that there was no way the land would have been sold without the knowledge of the Family members, especially the eldest member of the family (Otochalu), Nze Samuel Nwabude,” he recounted from hospital bed.
He, however, said that the farmers later revealed that it was one Nkemdili Nwodo (who also happens to be a member of the Osonari Family) that gave them the land to cultivate on. He said the people, thereafter, invited Mr. Nwodo to ask him questions about the land, which he declined to answer, proudly telling them that he had sold the land to someone, and that they should come back tomorrow if they wanted to know the person who bought the land from him and how it was sold to him.
“The people reported the matter to me, and as the Chairman of the family, I decided to join them to the place the following day, being Tuesday, to know who actually bought the land and who sold it to him,” he narrated.
Obiora, however, said that what they saw the following day was far different from their expectations, as the meeting surprisingly turned bloody, resulting in loss of lives.
“On that Tuesday, having also gotten information that the farmers still wanted to go there and resume their farming activities, we went there to meet them and also see and know the said buyer of the land and the person who sold it to him.
“But, upon getting there around 8.am, we didn’t see anybody on the land, including the said farmers. However, as we turned to go back, we saw a group of people, some of whom were strange faces while some others were known faces and members of the Osonari Family, including the Nkemdili Nwodo, Judebond Onwuasoanya, Alex Onwuasoanya, Declan Egwuatu, among other people, numbering over fifteen.”
According to him, while questions were coming from different corners about the ownership of the land, one of the strange faces from the group pulled out gun from a polythene bag he was holding and started shooting sporadically, in the process of which he shot him on the leg and also gunned down two of the persons who came with him.
“After that, they fled to Nwodo’s house, where people said they saw them pack a car with the inscription “AVG” on it, and from there, they zoomed off,” he narrated. He added that he managed to pick up his phone from where he was crippled by bullets, and contacted some relatives, who rushed to their rescue, and rushed them to hospital.
The Osonari Family Chairman, however, sadly said that, one of the victims, Chekwube Akabuogu Kingsley, unfortunately died on the way to hospital, while Sunday another one, Kenneth Onwumelu, gave up in the hospital. Meanwhile, he said he himself was severely hit by bullet and is still currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
He also revealed that the Police have been notified of the incident and have already visited him in the hospital, visited the scene, and also launched manhunt for the suspects. He further pleaded for the intervention of the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led Anambra State Government and other relevant authorities as activities of land grabbers and illegal land sales are becoming the other of the day in the area, causing the residents sleepless nights and exposing them to life threats.
When contacted by this reporter, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that the Command was aware of the incident and had already arrested some suspects in connection with the attack, while operation and investigation are still ongoing.
This reporter, Izunna Okafor, further gathered from sources close to the area that some aggrieved youths and relatives of the victims later invaded and launched reprisal attacks on the families of the suspects complicit to the attack, whom had already fled their homes before the arrival of the angry youths, including Nwodo, who was reportedly arrested at Igbariam while he was on the run.
