By Chuks Eke
It was all tears and wailings with palpable tensions pervading the scene at a public cenetery in Asaba, Delta state capital as bodies of three tenants of a large compound located at Kilometer 1, Asaba/Benin Expressway, Okwe who were shot death in last Mondays bloody land squabble were buried.
The burial ceremony which took place shortly after Islamic prayers, was witnessed by Delta state government officials and some security agencies, including the Directorate of State Services, DSS.
Gunmen dressed in local vigilante uniforms had on Monday stormed the compound largely occupied by the northerners as tenants and allegedly opened fire on them for failing to vacate the premises as earlier ordered and in the encounter, three persons died on the spot, while about seven others sustained various degrees of injuries arising from gun shots and machete cuts.
Conducting newsmen round the compound at the scene of the incident, shortly after the burial ceremony, Chairman of Abraka Quarters, Auwalu Dalhatu told newsmen that the killer squad had on Friday, November 21, stormed the quarter and asked all the tenants to vacate the premises on or before Monday, November 24 or be prepared to face the consequences.
Auwalu further told newsmen that while threatening thunder and brimstone during the Friday visit, the armed men who are suspected to be vigilante operatives/cultists, claiming that they were hired by one Jerry Nkeweshe who is laying claim to the ownership of the property, said after the killing of his fellow tenants and subjects on Monday, some army commander’s blamed him for not informing them about the threat as he informed the police and he told them that he did not know that the police would disappoint them as they did.
Auwalu said after the armed men served the tenants with the oral notice to vacate the premises on or before Monday and left, he quickly ran to the police station at ‘B’ Division in Asaba and laid a complaint and police authorities gave him an assurance of adequate protection, adding that the tenants should alert the police if the gunmen eventually came, for prompt Internation.
Auwalu however regretted that when the gunmen eventually arrived on Monday and opened fire on the tenants, ignoring the explanations of the tenants that they have a certified true copy of a court judgement which indicated that the property actually belongs to one Mr. Kingsley Ijebuonwu and not Jerry Nkeweshe, the gunmen opened fire at once and gunned down many tenants in an operation that lasted for over two hours, which at the last count, left three dead and seven others injured.
He identified the deceased persons as Mohammed Murtsla from Bauchi state, Kabiru Abdullahi and Yahaya. He therefore called on the state government and security agencies to henceforth give the tenants a backup to avoid a repeat of this nature. He also called for justice and adequate compensation
for the deceaseds’ relatives.
Insisting that he saw Jerry Nkeweshe physically presence as the commander of the killer squad whom he identified as Fire Muller ordered them to open fire, Auwalu mentioned Danjuma Mohammed and Abdullahi Lukman as elder brothers to the deceased Kabiru and Murtala, elder brother to the deceased Mohammed.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Willwal Agency Limited, Chief Wilfred Egwuonwu, an Estate Manager managing the compound for Kingsley Ijebuonwu, the landlord, asked the tenants to remain calm and allow security agencies to investigate the matter properly.
Egwuonwu recalled that Nkeweshe has for long been lunching attacks on the property on the process of laying false claims on the property.
Meantime, the Delta state police command has declared Chief Jerryy Nkeweshe, the Owelle of Onicha-Olona wanted in connection with the attack and killings of the tenants.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Bright Edafe who disclosed the wanted notice, said investigations were ongoing and that suspects were being sought in connection with the attack.
But in a response issued through his lawyer, Kelechi Nnadi, Nkeweshe denied any involvement in the incident and described the police statement as inaccurate and harmful to his reputation.
According to Nnadi, Nkeweshe, his client was not in Okwe or anywhere around Asaba at the time of the attack. He said Nkeweshe travelled to Umunede earlier that morning for medical attention and remained there throughout the day in the company of witnesses.
“On the morning of November 24, 2025, Chief Nkeweshe departed Asaba at about 8:30 a.m. to attend to medical concerns in Umunede, where he remained throughout the day with credible witnesses, including Mr. Ifeanyi Okolo and Mr. Emmanuel Anwuzia,” the lawyer stated.
He added that Nkeweshe returned to Asaba later in the evening to meet with his legal representatives in preparation for a court matter scheduled for the next day at the Delta State High Court, Issele-Uku.
“It is therefore impossible for him to have participated in or led any armed group in Okwe on November 24,” he said.
Nnadi also called on the Commissioner of Police to clarify aspects of the police statement, including reports of meetings held with interested parties. He noted that if such reports were inaccurate, the concerned authorities were free to publicly deny them.
He further explained that his client had previously faced allegations that were later dismissed after investigations, and said Nkeweshe viewed the latest claims as part of a pattern of harassment.
Nkeweshe has given the Commissioner of Police and the Police Public Relations Officer 14 days to retract the statement and issue a clarification clearing him of the allegation.coding to Nnadi, failure to comply will lead to legal action for defamation, malicious falsehood and abuse of office, as well as petitions to oversight bodies.
“We hereby issue a 14-day ultimatum for the retraction of the publication and a public clarification. Failure to comply will leave us with no option but to initiate legal proceedings and file formal complaints before the Police Service Commission and other relevant bodies,” he said.
The lawyer also urged investigators to obtain relevant location data and conduct a transparent and unbiased inquiry into the Okwe incident.
He appealed to journalists to verify sensitive information before publication to avoid misleading the public or endangering livesnadi reiterated that the disputed land matter referenced in some reports is currently before a competent court and should not be connected to the killings.
