13042019 - KILLING FIELDS OF NORTH WEST:They killed my husband, our three children in my presence – Zamfara survivor

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14—SATURDAY Vanguard, APRIL 13, 2019 Herdsmen, cultists taking centre stage in southeast Continues from pg 13 at the hospital until she alighted from her vehicle to open her gate at the Federal Housing Estate, near Nowas Filling Station, when her killers started pumping hot leads into her stomach, some few minutes after 4 pm. The assassins reportedly made a U- turn and sped off, having accomplished their alleged mission. Neighbours rushed the victim to the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, ESUTH, Parklane, where she had earlier worked and doctors at ESUTH battled in vain to save her life as the bullets had caused a lot damage to her major organs. Mrs Amadi, a mother of two little children and native of Aku in the state was said to be a first class brain, was appointed HNS on merit, having performed better than her male counterparts working in the hospital during a special examination organised to select a suitable candidate for the position. It was said that even as the HNS, the deceased was able to complete her Masters degree and PhD programmes before she was cut down in her prime. Woman survives herdsmen attack in Abia Abia State has also had its share of unnecessary killings. Early this month, the Police command arraigned a herdsman, Salisu Garuba, for the attempted murder of a lady, Esther Ibemecha. The herdsman was arrested for cutting off Ibemecha’s four fingers at No 1 Pepples Road, Ogbor-Hill, Aba when she asked the suspect to move his cattle away from her business premises where she sells drinks. Ibemecha, currently receiving treatment at the Abia State University Teaching, ABSUTH, Aba, said she runs a beer parlour and hails from Asaga in Ohafia council area of Abia State. Narrating her escape from death at the General Hospital, Aba, Ibemecha said, “On Sunday 31st of March, around 4:37pm, I was going to my shop at No.1 Peoples Road, Ogbor Hill. “I couldn’t pass or enter my shop because a herdsman with his cows blocked the way. I asked the herdsman to move the cows out of the shop area, but the herdsman threatened to cut off my head. I thought it was a joke and insisted that the herdsman move his cow, but before I could know what was happening, the herdsman hit me with a stick. As if that was not enough, he brought out a machete, trying to cut off my head, I defended it with my hand and it cut off my four fingers. People were not around. “When the herdsman saw that blood was gushing out and that my cries have attracted attention, he ran away. I pursued him with the blood and was shouting. I ran to the military checkpoint near the area and reported the incident and the soldiers went after him and arrested him. They knelt him down and flogged him with his machete before handing him over to the police.” Police Public Relations Officer, Abia State Command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the arraignment of the suspect, saying he was arraigned for murder and was later remanded. Late last year, police operatives in Abia State arrested three suspects for allegedly robbing, kidnapping and killing a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps identified as Nnadozie Ohanyerem in Umuahia. The suspects were Uchenna Kalu, Augustine Ihekoronye and Eze Anthony. The deceased was a serving corps member in Rivers State who came to Abia to visit his friend at the Escoba Estate, Umuobia, Olokoro suburb of Umuahia but was ambushed by the suspects while driving into his friend’s residence in the estate. The suspects robbed him of his cell phone and that of one Daniel Ayelabola who came to open the gate for him. The suspects abducted the deceased in his Toyota Avalon car with I thought it was a joke and insisted that the herdsman move his cow, but before I could know what was happening, the herdsman hit me with a stick number plate KYA 383 E and later shot him, threw away his body along the Olokoro Road, while his car was taken to other gang members in Owerri, Imo State. The deceased’s car was taken to one Martins Anthony, a car dealer and the alleged kingpin of the gang, through the help of a naval officer identified as Victor Oparacha. Luck, however, ran out on the suspects when Anthony called the father of the deceased and told him to pay some money into his account for him to return the stolen car. Last November, a self-acclaimed evangelist, Prosper Peter, killed his friend, Kelechi Iwuanyanwu, a pastor in a new generation church in Umuahia. He recruited three persons that murdered Mr Iwuanyanwu, his alleged mistress and Woman Leader in the church, Ruth Eze and Kalu Ikeagwu, the assistant pastor. Iwuanyanwu, who was the founder of Winds of Glory Ministry, Umuahia, was murdered along with the two others at his residence, located at Umuobia Housing Estate in the early hours of October 14. Narrating how the deceased was killed, the suspect said he and the hired killers laid ambush in front of Mr Iwuanyanwu’s residence around midnight. “As soon as he came back and opened the gate, the boys went into the apartment, where they matcheted the three of them to death,” he said. He said the original plan was not to kill them, but that they were killed after one of the killers realised that he had been recognised by one of the deceased. Anambra gets baptism of fire ANAMBRA was one of the few states where the problem between the herdsmen and the local farmers did not escalate when it started because of the way the state government handled the matter. Before government’s intervention, reports of alleged rape of women and destruction of crops belonging to farmers, as well as the frequent killing of cows belonging to the herdsmen were the order of the day in many communities in the state. Worried by t h e development, •Late. Rev. Fr. Governor Clement Ugwu W i l l i e Obiano set up a joint security task force comprising the police, the army, the navy, the paramilitary outfits, the local vigilante groups, government officials, traditional rulers and presidents general of the town unions, to handle the matter and ensure that peace reigned in all parts of the state. After series of meetings, the task force ordered that any group that violated the agreement would be sanctioned. For instance, it was agreed that in the event of any attack that led to loss of lives, the victims’ families would be adequately compensated and the appropriate value of crops destroyed and cows killed would be paid for by those responsible. With that arrangement, peace returned in most of the communities and the herdsmen controlled the movement of their cows with very minimal destruction of crops. However, there still exist cases of attacks in some communities, •Late Dr (Mrs) Maria Amadi which are attributed to the influx of herdsmen from other parts of the country, who were not registered with such communities. The unregistered herdsmen, it was gathered, were the causes of the continued loss of lives and property in parts of the state, particularly in Anambra East and Anambra West local government areas of the state. This area, lying along the Anambra River, is the food basket of Anambra State, with its year- round availability of g r e e n i s h environment, which, perhaps, was the attraction of the herdsmen to the area. Despite the promise by both sides to maintain the peace, occasional security breaches still occurred. Last week, the people of Mmiata in Anambra West local government area were taken unawares when some people suspected to be the militant arm of the Fulani herdsmen swooped the area and killed about six persons. Several others who were wounded were later taken to hospitals for treatment. One of the survivors of the recent attack at Mmiata Anam, Mr. Augustine Udalor said the survivors escaped death by the whiskers. He told Saturday Vanguard that all the local farmers now live in fear, as they have become afraid to go to their farms. “The frequent killing by the Fulani herdsmen is causing excruciating hunger in Anambra West local government area and we do not know when this will end,” he said. Narrating his experience to Saturday Vanguard, Udalor said: “It was around 10: am when I was working in my farm close to my house and one of our neighbors came and told my wife that the herdsmen were around. Ten minutes later, my wife told me that she saw heavily armed eight Fulani herdsmen with guns and machete. I didn’t know that they had already killed five people at Agweugbu. “Unfortunately, we did not know when our neighbors ran way. I ran to a point and hid. It was God that saved us because they came and searched for me. In fact, they almost saw me where I hid because I was looking at them very closely, but they could not see me. “They were eight in number, one of them was carrying a bag loaded with gun, while the other eight were holding machete in their hands. Before then, they had also killed four persons in the nearby farm settlement called Iyiogbu Camp and burnt their houses. “After staying for some hours in the bush, I came out and started searching for my wife and the other woman. By then some people had started calling me. I came out and saw my wife and she then told me that the Fulani herdsmen had killed Chief Obugo Nnakwe who was fetching fire wood before the herders came and gave him deep cuts. My other neighbour was also inflicted with machete while she was running.” He said that although his people had issues with the herdsmen on 2nd January, 2019, when two herdsmen raped the wives of two local farmers, the issue was later resolved to the satisfaction of both sides, adding that his people did not know that they would come to attack the farm settlements. Another indigene of Mmiata Anam, Mr. Ojukwu Obakasi, who is a senior special assistant, SSA, to Governor Obiano told Saturday Vanguard that life is no longer the same in his area. Going down memory lane, Obakasi said: “Following skirmishes between the herdsmen and farmers in the area, during which some lives were lost on both sides in December last year, the herdsmen pulled out of Anambra West, but their militant wing who are usually armed to the teeth, have been attacking some communities at odd hours in Anambra West. He said: “The crisis began in December 2018 when there was a clash between farmers and the herdsmen. We tried as much as we could to quell the crisis, but before peace returned, many lives had been lost on both sides and property worth millions of naira, were destroyed. “However,, since that December 2018, there had been intermittent skirmishes between the herdsmen and the local farmers. Several meetings were also held between the leaders of the herdsmen and the farmers and the knotty issues were again resolved. “Subsequently, the herdsmen, on their own volition, left the troubled area, but their militant arm has been coming to cause trouble, killing people and destroying property. They usually come at night when the people are already asleep. Their modus operandi was to start firing in the air and anybody that stepped out of his house became a victim. “After the attack that usually lasts less than 10 minutes, they run back towards the Kogi State border where they usually come from”. According to him, the problem is that there is a porous border between Kogi and Anambra states, stretching into hundreds of miles, which is very difficult for policing by security agencies. The traditional ruler of Mkpunando Otu and chairman of Anambra East traditional rulers’ council, Igwe Alex Edozieuno, who spoke on the herdsmen/ farmers clashes, said that even Anambra East local government was not spared in the weekend’s attack and called on the state government to intervene in the misunderstanding between Fulani herdsmen and Anambra West because their presence had continued to generate tensions in the area. . Narrating how Anambra East, which is also Governor Obiano’s local government was attacked by the herdsmen at the weekend, the Monarch said: “They (Herdsmen) crossed from Anambra River and the first people they saw were from Ezi-Agulu Otu in Anambra East where they killed two Continues on pg 15
SATURDAY Vanguard, APRIL 13, 2019—15 Catholic priests, innocent ones falling victims Continues from pg 14 people, an Anam indigene and the other, an Abakaliki indigene, apparently thinking they were from Anambra West. The killing nearly caused a war between Aguleri and Anam people, until there was information that herdsmen also killed other people at Mmiata, which helped to douse the tension.” Igwe Edozieuno also explained how traditional rulers from the two local government areas were almost detained when they honoured an invitation by the Commissioner of Police to answer questions on the recent attack, adding that what saved them was that another traditional ruler, Igwe S. O. Nnose of Ifite Anam, volunteered to identify them. He said further: “The herdsmen claimed that some of their men were killed along with their cows in the past. These herdsmen are occupying Anambra West and Anambra East and the state government, should therefore know how to handle the situation because it has been a source of frequent killings in the area.”. Following the recent attacks in some communities in Anambra West local government area, the state police command said it had deployed two units of the Mobile Police Force and other regular policemen to the troubled area to maintain peace. Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Mohammed Haruna said investigation into the incident had begun, assuring that the state police command was on top of the situation. Eight butchered over boundary dispute in Ebonyi Ebonyi State is known for unending boundary disputes either with a neigbouring Cross River State, Benue State or communities within Ebonyi State. Just recently, eight persons including a three months baby were killed in a renewed boundary dispute between two communities in Ebonyi state. Six of the victims were of the same family were burnt to death in a bus they were traveling in while two others were killed from bullet wounds they sustained from the attacks.The attack happened along the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike road near the border between the two communities. Police Spokesperson, Loveth Odah said one of the victims was a wife of a Police officer serving in the state but who is on secondment to Bornu State to fight insurgency in the Northeast. According to her, “It is a longstanding dispute between Ndiagu Alike community in Ikwo Local Government Area and Enyibichiri community in Abakaliki Local Government Area that erupted the on Saturday. A vehicle was seen burning on the road, allegedly set ablaze by warriors from one of the communities. The victims were coming from Abakaliki where they attended a matriculation of their son. Five of them were from the same family including a little baby and one is a neighbour who joined them. They were burnt to ashes. “Also three other persons were also attacked and two of them were killed. One of them, a woman was the wife of a police officer deployed to Bornu State”, she said. Reacting to the development, Governor David Umahi organised a stakeholders meeting with leaders from three local government areas where some of the killings took place. They included Enyibichiri in Abakaliki local government area, Echie Alike in Ikwo local government area and Umuogodoakpu and Ukwuagba communities in Ohaukwu Local Government Area. Enyibichiri and Echie Alike have been having interactable boundary dispute for decades. Umuogodoakpu and Ukwuagba communities have been having boundary dispute with Agila community in Ado local government area of Benue state which over the years have claimed many lives. “If there is any further aggression against the Agila people that will result to our people being killed, you will present yourself for arrest and prosecution immediately. If the chairman is not able to protect the lives of his people, then he is not worthy to be the chairman. He should resign or I sack him, whether it is constitutional or not constitutional is immaterial to me. What is important is the lives of Ebonyi people and the constitution that we swore to uphold.”. Cultists kill, maim in Imo Cultists have taken centre stage in Imo and recently, left three dead and many injured. A week ago, Imo State police command paraded five suspects over the killings by cultists in Nekede, Owerri West local government area of the state. The killings took place during and after elections in the state. Although the police restored calm in the affected areas, it is evident cultists are holding sway in Nekede community of Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State . According to the State Police Command, “This singular incident sent fears within people living in Nekede and its environs. I am glad to inform you that the command rose up to the occasion and brought the incident under control and today normalcy has returned to the area. In view of the above, five cultist were cultists paraded which included Martins Iwuagwu 28-yr-old; Obinna Ojike 25 yrold; and 18-yr-old Chibueze Kalu. Their victims according to the police were a 39- year-old, Chidi Obilonu, and Cyracus Ekejiuba 45-year-old. In another another development, two persons were shot dead on March 14 by cultists. The suspects were arrested and the exhibits recovered from them. They made useful statements to the police admitting to be members of a secret cult. The cultists according to Orlando were a 22-year-old, David Ogbonna and 21-yearold, Oparaugo Joseph Onyebuchi, all males and their victim was a male named David Udeme.” According to the police, “On 17/02/2019 at about 21 00hrs, the above named deceased, a suspected member of Supreme Vikings Secret Confraternity was gruesomely gunned down by unknown My wife named her killers before she died —Husband of murdered psychiatric Nur urse se By Dennis Agbo Marcel Amadi is the husband to late Dr Maria Amadi, the Deputy Director, School of Post Basic Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu, who was murdered in front of her House on March 212019. Mr. Amadi recalls the problems her wife encountered in her work place and what she told him before she finally gave up the ghost on his palms. How it happened! Thursday 21st of March 2019 was a dark day for me. My wife was coming back from work and on her way to open the gate and enter inside our compound; some assassins were waiting for her. She greeted them and passed according to the children who were here. What they saw was that they started raining bullets on her, pump action. That was between 4 and 5pm and they started calling me on the phone and my son had gone out to barb his hair. I was at the Press centre for a meeting when my phone rang, that this is what happened and that they need my attention. So I rushed to Parklane hospital emergency unit and saw my wife battered, in pool of blood and the nurses and doctors were battling to save her because my wife worked there before going to the federal neuropsychiatric hospital Enugu. Before then, my sister gave my wife phone and she said Daddy I am alive. When I got there, I saw the quantity of bullets they rained on my wife. The parklane people did their best, they wanted to carry out operation on her abdomen because that was where it shattered her and they said we should rush her to Niger Foundation hospital. Inside the ambulance I was holding my wife with oxygen with three pants of blood but she didn’t make it. Before my wife died, she was shouting, even when I came, she said ‘Daddy these two people have killed me.’ They are two people (names withheld). Even the DPO of a police station confirmed that because the DPO followed her down to the hospital, taking records of what she was saying. She said that they have succeeded in killing her; she was screaming and calling their names until she gave up. Before that incident, my wife was complaining that these people were worrying her and that she had nothing to do with them. She said she told them to assailants of a rival cult group at Legacy Hotel Ihiagwa in Owerri West L.G.A. “Upon receipt of the report, operatives of Anti – Cultism Unit of the Command swooped into action and raided a number of suspected secret cult group hide-outs where a number of suspects were arrested. “On interrogation, the above named suspects confessed to belong to Black Axe Secret Confraternity that orchestrated the gruesome murder. Investigation is on-going while efforts are on top gear to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate.” However, he said that apart from the five suspects arrested in connection with the alleged cult killings, he also listed as the exhibits recovered from them, “Two Beretta pistols; One locally made pistol; Two 9mm live ammunition and one live cartridge. A sharp kitchen knife.” A narrow escape Just after the elections, an aide to the Imo State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Imo West Senatorial candidate Jones Onyereri, Nnamdi Nsorom was attacked by suspected political assassins. Nsorom was reportedly shot at the front of Onyereri’s house behind concord Hotel in Owerri, Imo state. The incident happened around 7am to 8am where Nsorom reportedly sustained several gunshot injuries. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Before this time, a party agent to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was shot dead by suspected thugs belonging to political rival groups in Eziama Obire in Nkwerre local government area of Imo state. The Imo state Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, Orlando Ikeokwu confirmed this to newsmen in Owerri. Bitter experience Before the advent of cultists, Imo communities had bitter experiences in the hands of suspected dreaded herdsmen said to be camping in their communities. Saturday Vanguard learnt that the herdsmen caused a serious damage to farmlands and to an extent caused harm on the rural dwellers, included Owerri west, Owerri North, Okigwe, Ohaji Egbema among others. It was gathered that the affected communities have continued to expect compensation on their damages farmlands which never came their way. The ugly story came to a point that the Imo State chairman of Miyetti Allah, Audi Dikko, openly apologized to the affected communities. He said: “I want to apologise to farmers in Imo State. Imo State is a peaceful state and we have been living peacefully with the people of the state. We want to say forgive us. We are happy that the Imo State Government has formed a committee to look into this issue and we believe that there will be positive outcome.” Also, Eze Iheanacho Ndukwe of Amagu community in Okigwe Local Government Area, said: “The problem is that among these Fulani herdsmen, we have one group that is organised and the other group is not organised. This particular group that is not organised goes into our farms with arms and destroy them. “Let me tell you, we normally have this problem during the rainy season. Let us say the truth, there is a group that comes into Okigwe with dangerous weapons.” leave her alone in the school, that anything they wanted to do, they should go ahead and leave her alone but not to come to her clinical area because my wife was the head on nursing department there, HNS, which she was promoted recently after bagging her PhD in Nursing, the only person in Enugu state that has bagged PhD in Nursing profession. In December 2018, they promoted her to Deputy Director. She told me that these people didn't want her to put legs on the ground. I asked her •Mr Marcel how and she said she Amadi just wanted to let me know and that she took it as just the normal administrative embarrassment. She had worked in Parklane hospital, in the state ministry, UNTH, Orthopedics Hospitals. It’s just jealousy; that they didn't want to be under her. She said they could do anything they wanted to do and that is where we are now. “
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13042019 - KILLING FIELDS OF NORTH WEST:They killed my husband, our three children in my presence – Zamfara survivor

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