•Says Obumselu, His Groups behind Killings in the town
The family of the traditional ruler of Ogwuaniocha, Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State, His Royal Highness, Igwe Oliver Chike Nnaji, has debunked the false and unfounded news item being circulated in the social media space by one Christopher Obumselu on behalf of his alleged notorious gang known as Oduah in Council and Lion Squad in Ogwuanoacha that security operatives have been arresting innocent persons in the community.
The palace spokesperson, Chief Anthony Nnaji (Onu-eze), and the President-General of Ogwu-Aniocha Progressive Association (OPA), Comrade Chidi Ezeh, in a release made available to newsmen in Onitsha which they jointly signed, countered what they called, “frivolous news going round in social media space.”
They said the Igweship tussle in Ogwuaniocha has nothing to do with the formation of deadly gang called Lion Squad that was allegedly used by Obumselu, Okwudili Ogana and others to abduct Igwe Oliver Chike Nnaji (the gazetted traditional ruler of Ogwuaniocha by Anambra State government) and the alleged killing of over 40 people in the community.
“Some of those arrested after the incident have made confessional statements about their involvements in the kidnapping of the Igwe, and the killing of over 40 people in the community, including burning down the entire community to make it look as if it was a communal clash. They are after the resources of the community, especially the recently discovered oil deposits in the community,” said the duo.
They pointed out that the issue of Igwe in the community has been settled during the regime of His Excellency, the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr.Peter Obi in 2014 when he issued Certificate of Recognition to Igwe Oliver Chike Nnaji of Ogwu-Aniocha in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The duo expressed that the security agents have their way of operations and carrying out investigations because since 2021 when the incident occurred, some names have been in their wanted list, while those arrested continued to indict others.
“Nobody is above the law if found wanting. The general public should note that the news was not only frivolous, but also misleading,” they stated.
They said that Obumselu, contested for the traditional ruler’s position in Ogwuanocha along with our abducted traditional ruler, Igwe Oliver Chike Nnaji, but lost. Since then he was bent on killing our traditional ruler, so they succeeded in abducting him.
“Our traditional ruler was abducted on the 15th day of November, 2021 by the operation of Lion Squad gang and Oduah in Council”.
Continuing, “the spokesperson, the President-General of Ogwu-Aniocha and the entire Town Union want to use the media to inform the entire public to disregard the false publication against the security men in Ogbaru that it is on record and publicly attested that nobody is living in Ogwuaniocha because of fear of the Lion Squad and the unknown gunmen that have been recruited to sack the entire community.
“We want to use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo for his determination to make Ogbaru Local Government Area and Anambra State a livable place. We also thank the security agencies for doing their professional jobs diligently. Our prayer is that Ogwuaniocha people should embrace peace anchored through justice and equity,” they ended.
