-Says: Police officer Terrorizing Ohaji/Egbema,
The President Generals of Town Unions in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State led by Hon. Kingsley Chigozie Omuruka who is also PG of all PGs in Imo State and Coordinating PG of Ohaji/Egbema Town Unions have called on Governor Hope Uzodinma to quickly call Inspector Innocent Chika Okebata to order or the entire LGA will be fraught with peril in his hands.
Omuruka, during a press briefing held in Owerri on Tuesday said the Inspector popularly known as ‘kill and bury’ has been terrorizing the LGA and arrogating powers to himself to intimidate and suppress residents of Ohaji/Egbema LGA.
Narrating his ugly encounter with the Police Inspector during the distribution of palliatives donated by the representing Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru West Federal Constituency at Izombe Central School in Oguta last week Friday, Hon. Eugene Dibiagwu, the Community Leader told a pitiable story of how he, alongside other President-Generals of various communities, were beaten blue black by the said Inspector whom, he said stormed the venue of the event with over 25 armed thugs.
He recalled that the same Inspector Okebata had on the 9th of April, 2024 forcefully inaugurated a parallel Town Union leadership in Obile Autonomous Community, installing his stooge, Mr. Ndubuisi Obido as a factional President-General of the Community.
“Inspector Innocent Okebata is from Izombe Autonomous Community. He should be in his mid thirties but his activities in the LGA are posing a lot of security threats to the people. He goes around with multiple armed thugs and bounces at any victim at the slightest provocation”.
“The last was the one he did at Izombe Central School field which was the venue of Hon. Eugene Dibiagwu’s Constituency briefing on Friday the 7th day of June, where he mobilized thugs to beat me and my fellow PGs to stupor”.
“We were invited by Hon. Eugene Dibiagwu during his empowerment programme and distribution of palliatives on Friday. We, the President-Generals, and all of us honoured the invitation. As the Chairman of all the President Generals both in Ohaji/Egbema and Imo State, and knowing the distribution of the palliatives would follow a process, from the coordinators of various communities down to the PGs,I ensured orderliness among the people,but while I was going back to my seat to watch over the process , kill and bury with over 25 armed thugs stormed the venue and pounced on me, hitting my head severally with a big stick. He ordered his boys to beat me and all the President-Generals present at the venue”.
“It was through the intervention of the former Commissioner for Niger Delta Affairs, Prince Henry Okafor, that our lives were spared, if not, his plan was to kill us at the venue”.
“I have been in the hospital since the incident and my condition is critical bad. I can’t even move my hands nor walk without a limp”.
“The essence of this broadcast is to tell the whole world and the Governor of Imo State, Most Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma about the nefarious activities of kill and bury in Ohaji/Egbema and for him to be held esponsible should anything happen to me and my fellow PGs, because he has been threatening to deal with us”.
“Kill and bury is a security threat in Ohaji/Egbema. He goes around with his thugs intimidating anyone he deems necessary. Instead of a police officer who supposed to protect lives and property he is dragging the image of the Nigeria Police Force to the mud, and we are calling on Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General of Police to, as a matter of urgency, sanction and dismiss him for indiscriminate use of his fire-arms to intimidate, assault and threaten ordinary civilians in the LGA”.
“We,also call on the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, a man who believes in equal love for his people, to wade into this life-threatening issue and save us from the hands of kill and bury. We are all living in fear because of one man.”
Speaking in turns, other President- Generals in the LGA including Akam Kingsley Nwawuihe of Ochia, Ochasi Chukwuemeka of Ohuba and Apostle Moses Ugwu of Obosima, said they were assaulted in the most inhuman manner and treated like common criminals by Kill and bury. They recalled that, in the course of beating them up, the Orlu Zonal Chairman of APC and even the new Sole Administrator of Ohaji/Egbema, were also slapped by Kill and bury when they made effort to save the situation.
The PG of Ochia, Akam Kingsley Nwawuihe, while narrating his ordeal, said he received the biggest beating of his life and his shirt thorn into shreds by the thugs.
He said, “we are no longer safe in Ohaji/Egbema because of one man who has sworn to deal with us. If nothing urgent is done to call the Inspector to order, he will kill us and make the land unbearable for our people. We call on the Governor to do something to salvage the situation.”
