CRISIS IN ISUANIOCHA AS HOODLUMS INJURE MANY, DESTROY PROPERTY

Reporter : UCHE NDEKE

Several persons have been wounded and property worth millions of naira destroyed by hoodlums in Isuaniocha, Awka North Local GovernmentAarea of Anambra State.  To this end, the residents appeal to the Federal and State Governments as well as security agencies to urgently come to their aid by sending patrol team to the area to guarantee safety of lives and property.

Isuaniocha is one of the fast growing communities that make up Awka capital territory as many people, including artisans, have continued to build and  find accommodation in the area.  The recent attacks and injuring of people as well as destruction of property caused fear and panic among residents, who are worried about growing insecurity.

According to an eye witness, miss Peace Patrick, who works in one of the guest houses destroyed , about thirty young men carrying weapons, including guns, descended on them, beating up everyone and destroying household effects worth millions of naira in the facility.

Another resident,   who gave her name as Favour Ada, alleged that the hoodlums carted away television sets, refrigerators,  assorted drinks, mattresses, and huge sum of money.

“I was inside the room when they invaded us, they started shooting the window glasses, breaking everywhere and parking our electronic gadgets, they collected my sister’s phone from her,” Ada narrated with sadness.

Two of the injured victims, Mr. Onyebuchi Okeke and  Mr. John Nwankwor, narrated that they were working on a  bridge leading to Otoko Village when the hoodlums descended on them, shooting and destroying cars.

“We were working at the bridge when the boys descended on us asking us to stop work. Immediately they started attacking us with machetes, destroying cars parked and even tricycles,” Mr. Nwankwor cried out.

In an interview, the President General of the community, Comrade Frank Mkpume, blamed the crisis on the activities of people he described as bad elements in the community, who were bent on fomenting trouble in the land for selfish purposes.

According to Comrade Mkpume, “this is the handiwork of some bad elements in Isuaniocha, who have sworn to destroy our town for their selfish interests.

“They had been involved in some illegal activities,  including collecting levies from developers, illegal sale of lands of individuals, intimidating people and hijacking the work of the elders and market authorities; we know them.”

He therefore appealed to the government to urgently look into the matter with a view to resolving it in the interest of peace and security of the people.

Another resident of the area and Chairman of Otoko Village, Mr. Okwudili Obiakor, narrated that trouble began when the people of Otoko Village decided to elect a leadership in December, 2020 to replace an existing caretaker committee, a decision that did not go down well with the Interim Chairman, as he allegedly threatened to cause mayhem in the area.

Reacting to the allegations, the Youth  Chairman of the community, Mr. Onyemazi Ngini, expressed regret that  the inability of the Anambra State Government to recognize their new President General after they had impeached Mr. Frank Mkpume, led to the lingering crises in the area.

According to him, Mr. Mkpume went ahead to collect development levy of one million naira from a developer and never remitted such to the youths account, a situation that aggravated the mobs to start looking for their entitlement.

“We informed the Local Government Commission that we have a new President General who emerged in December 2020.

“They replied us saying that it is null and void. How can the government dictate to us who will be our leader?” Mr. Ngini queried.

Radio Nigeria gathered that about fifty persons sustained various degrees of machete cuts while up to five vehicles and motorcycles were damaged by the hoodlums.