By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
The people of Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State have a rich history of culture and tradition that bind them together as sons and daughters of the same ancestry.
With the passage of time and events, people have traversed in leaps and bounds. These uncommon virtues and potentials have joined with the allure of arable land and vegetation that is often the attraction of strangers to villages and communities in states of Nigeria, and are part of what has continued to draw people of other ethnic nationalities to the town for decades past.
The people have, without recourse to tribe, race, and colour lived in peace and harmony in their various hamlets, villages, and communities that make up the local government.
Apart from the real owners or indigenes of the land, the residents Umunze have also continued to prosper and grow collectively through the positive efforts of all the stakeholders, especially, the dogged contributions of the Umunze Progressive Union (UPU), the local government administration and the state government which laudable initiatives have brought enormous development and improved welfare including the security of lives and property of people to the area.
However, the peace that pervades the town and local government area was recently disrupted following what the community perceives as a soured relationship between the host Umunze town and indigenes of Abakaliki in Ebonyi state who are residents of the area.
It was love lost and the centre could no longer hold; everyone seemed almost a suspect and the grains of neighbourliness were scattered that it’s now becoming impossible for the host and large Umunze Community to accommodate their Abakaliki guests. The proverbial oil that touches one finger has spread to others and therefore hard and rough decisions by elders, leaders, and Indigenes of Umunze become inevitable.
Two weeks ago, a three-man gang of ritualists had swooped on a 72-year-old Mrs Charity Okolie, in her house where they took turns to rape her.
Besides, they also harvested her private part, the nipples of her two breasts, cut off one finger, tongue, and the lower part of her lips, and left her in a pool of her blood.
The cruel and barbaric act attracted residents who raised the alarm. Youths and vigilante operatives in the community quickly went after the culprits.
Unfortunately, two of them bolted while the prime suspect was caught. The suspect whose name was yet to be identified was discovered while in deep sleep under their victim’s bed.
He was beaten to a pulp after which he was handed over to the police.
Okolie was quickly rushed to the hospital where doctors and nurses battled hard to save her life but she later gave up the ghost due to loss of blood.
Investigations revealed that the suspects contracted a native doctor in a far neighbouring town in the state who prescribed that they procure the vital human organs so he could prepare concoctions so the suspects can be rich overnight.
Irked by the harrowing experience exhibited heartlessness and murderous act, as well as cruelty and other heart-rending activities of the suspects, the people last Tuesday rose in protest and demanded justice over the ugly incident.
To the Umunze people, the Abakaliki residents in the area have murdered sleep and cannot sleep too and therefore must leave the town for loss of confidence and failure of to be of good behaviour as well as various criminal activities allegedly levelled against them.
All the businesses, markets, other economic activities, and institutions were grounded as over four thousand aggrieved women drawn from villages, communities, and towns that make up the local government area protested against the gruesome murder of the 72-year-old woman.
The peaceful protesters with green leaves and placards demanded amongst others that all Abakaliki indigenes residents in the area should leave Umunze town en mass because of the unbearable atrocious and condemnable killing Mrs Okolie who was raped and murdered.
At the moment, the prime suspect is cooling his heels in the darkroom of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the state Police Command in Amawbia, near Awka, the state capital, after his nemesis caught up with him. The two others are said to be on the run.
The angry women during the protest took their complaints to the Area police command headquarters, the palace of His Royal Highness, Igwe Promise Eze, (the Abilikete 11 of Umunze), the Transition Committee Chairman of the local government Hon Neville Uchendu and other relevant bodies.
They expressed sadness over the unbearable and hostile activities of Abakaliki Indigenes in the area who according to them allegedly indulge in many crimes including deliberate charging of outrageous bills for manual labour, rape of young girls, and other heinous crimes.
The women further called on the authorities to wade into the dangerous and unbecoming attitude of their guests/neighbours as they have outlived their usefulness and must therefore leave for peace to return to the area.
Spokesperson and President General of the Women in the area, Mrs Enekwachi Bridget, told newsmen, “The entire Umunze women resolved to come together today (Tuesday) for a peaceful protest because Abakaliki people resident in our community raped one of us in Ubaha village and cut off her tongue, one of her fingers, two nipples of her breasts and her private part.
“So, that’s why we are here to complain to the Transition Committee Chairman of the local government area so he can take our report to Awka the state capital for necessary action.”
“We are demanding justice and that the suspects should face the full weight of law because women are not supposed to face such torture and suffering in the hands of heartless criminal elements, sadly, these Abakaliki people residents amongst us have been having secret meetings against us despite our hospitality towards them.
“They charge us as high as N5,000 to cultivate a seed of yam for us and N200 to cut down per head of ripped oil palm and they charge us according to the number of heads of the oil palm nuts per tree.
“Besides, if you hire them for work, they will not do the work but wait till it is 3pm when they will leave the workplace and begin to demand money for work not done even as they threaten to kill the person who fails to pay them as agreed. At times they seize farmlands belonging to our people to the extent of laying ownership of such land after planting and harvesting their crops,” she added.
The President General of the Umunze Progressive Union (UPU), Mr Uchechukwu Olua, while addressing the women, commended them for conducting themselves in an orderly and peaceful manner and urged them to go about their protest in peace. He promised that their complaints would be given prompt attention by the police and other relevant authorities.
He disclosed, “Our relationship with the Abakaliki people in Umunze is becoming a very bad one. It’s not favouring us anymore because the way and manner they commit crimes in Umunze that we have a console for a while, is too much.”
On his part, the traditional ruler of Umunze community, HRH Igwe Promise Eze (Abilikete 11) in the reaction described the incident as sad and shocking to every resident of the community.
The monarch urged the people of the area to remain calm as police and leaders of the community are working round the clock to ensure that justice is done at the end of the day.
The monarch also threw his weight behind the call by the protesting women for the aggressors to leave the community for peace to reign, pointing out that the worst of the crimes being committed by the Abakaliki residents of the town was raping of you the girls and the latest killing of the innocent woman.
He appealed to Indigenes and residents of the area to strive to live in peace with each other and to obey the laws of the land, the state, and the country at large.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that one suspect had been arrested in connection with the crime and that he has also made a confessional statement of their involvement in the crime.
Ikenga added that operatives of the command are on the trail of other fleeing suspects and would arraign them in court on the conclusion of investigations into the case.
