- Chief Rochas Okorocha,ex-Governor of Imo State
Tales of frustrations and woes occasioning crimes and other offences have continued to emanate from Ogboko in Ideato South, home of the immediate past Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who had served in that capacity between 2011 to 2019 or a total of eight years.
An earlier report had it that the people of the area are currently counting their losses owing to the mindless and cruel manner the ex-governor converted their farm lands and buildings to himself and rendered so many of his kinsmen homeless while building dual carriage lanes which were unnecessary along roads in the area. In the course of the projects, people’s farmlands and economic trees were destroyed.
According to a source, on the 13th of March, 2020, a newborn baby boy was found by the side of the Orashi River, close to the Okorocha’s owned Riverside Hotel by a local farmer. It was later gathered that the baby boy had been in the forest for four (4) days without rescue until the good Samaritan saw him.
A twist to the story was that when the rescuer took the baby boy home he was taken to a maternity hospital at Umuechi,a village in Ogboko, the mother of the baby boy who had earlier thrown the baby away in the bush simply identified as Chinonso (aka Holy Spirit) and her brothers traced the farmer to the Maternity to demand ownership of the baby.
The farmer maintained that it was difficult to establish that the baby is owned by Chinonso as there was no evidence to that effect. In her response, Chinonso who had come with his parents and siblings pleaded with the Hospital management and the rescuer of the baby to handover the baby to her. She claimed that the reason for throwing the baby away was because there was no money to take care of him.
The matter was later reported to the traditional ruler of Ogboko,HRH Eze Friday Egenogwu. At the time of going to press, there was no confirmation whether any decision had been taken on the ownership of the baby boy who is still receiving treatment at the Umuechi maternity home.
The source also revealed that the traditional ruler has been faced with complaints of insecurity from people of the area with the community recording the highest number of armed robbery and murder incidences. At the time of this report, the traditional ruler and the community are also investigating a case of murder of a man who strangled his sister to death.
It has remained a case of one week one trouble for not just the people of Ogboko and immediate kinsmen of Senator Rochas Okorocha but the adjoining Umuchima,Ugbele communites who complain of neglect and total blackout for the eight years their brother was governor.
