By Special Correspondent
*NANKA, ANAMBRA* — Years have passed since the cold-blooded murder of Chief Joseph Ezenwegbu, the grassroots leader affectionately known as Joe Mohale, yet the echoes of that tragic night continue to haunt the Nanka community.
Despite initial promises from security agencies, the trail has gone cold, leaving a family in mourning and a community still searching for answers.
It was on November 11, 2023, that masked gunmen stormed the Etti Village Community Hall, targeting Ezenwegbu while he sat with friends.
In a chilling display of violence, the assailants reportedly branded him a “saboteur” before shooting him in the lower abdomen. Now, years later, the slow pace of the investigation decried by local leaders in the months following his death has transitioned into a stagnant silence that many fear will lead to the case being permanently forgotten.
The assassination remains inextricably linked to the political tension of the era. Ezenwegbu, then the YPP Ward 1 Chairman, was killed just hours after hosting a strategy session for Hon. Princess Chinwe Nnabuife ahead of a high-stakes re-run election.
The Nanka Forum and other community advocates have long maintained that the murder was a calculated hit designed to intimidate political opposition, yet the failure to identify the perpetrators or their sponsors in the years since has only deepened the sense of apprehension among residents.
This demand for a renewed investigation stems from a broader pattern of unexplained violence in the region.
Joe Mohale’s name is often whispered alongside other prominent Nanka indigenes who met mysterious **ends, such as* former Commissioner *Hon. C. C. Okoli* , former President General Hon. *Paul Chinedu** , and a former *Isi Nze Nanka* who was brutally beheaded.
Community leaders argue that the continued lack of progress is a significant letdown to the government and the nation, insisting that allowing these killers to remain at large only emboldens further criminality.
As Nanka moves forward, the message to the Nigeria Police Force and the DSS remains clear: the passage of time must not be allowed to serve as a shield for murderers.
The people of Orumba North continue to wait for the day when forensic evidence and diligent policing finally bring closure to a case that remains a gaping wound in the heart of their community.
