A gun shot is either an alarm or an impending danger. When residents of Umuota Obosi in Idemmili North Local Government Area of Anambra State heard sounds of gun shots penultimate Wednesday night little did they know that danger was lurk­ing in the corner until a group of young men emerged from a Mercedes Benz 190 car with machetes and axes and began to butcher a young man who was relaxing in a popular joint.

As they scampered for safe­ty, Ezeugo Ikeomu was already saying his goodbyes to mother earth but his demise marked yet another of the many deaths that have hallmarked the cur­rent tussle for power which has claimed the lives of many youths in Obosi. Though overtly repugnant, cultism in the community has emerged a ubiquitous and poisonous problem that has become a burden on discern­ing minds within the com­munity. Whatever it is that has led the youth of Obosi to fall victim to base instincts leaves much to be desired. The government and security agencies must act quickly to stem the carnage.

Ezeugo is alleged to be a former palace youth lead­er who had testified in the panel set up by the former governor Mr. Peter Obi to in­vestigate and find amicable solution to the lingering cri­sis bedeviling the commu­nity since the ascension of Igwe Iweka III to the throne.

Eye witness account of his death stated that on alighting from the car, one of murderers stripped him­self, removed his shoes, made straight for him at the joint and started shooting at close range before his colleagues who were with axes joined and killed him. They zoomed off soon after the dastardly act.

When contacted, the Obo­si Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Patrick Ozoemena, said the incident may be connect­ed to incessant cult clashes in the area. He said: “The corpse has been deposit­ed at St. Edward mortuary Obosi, and one suspect has been arrested at Chico area of Obosi”.

It would be recalled that the deceased narrowly es­caped death last year when he was shot by suspected assassins adjacent to the Obosi town hall.


The role of state government

Controversy has continued to trail the role being played by the Anambra State gov­ernment in the lingering tus­sle for the traditional stool of Obosi kingdom.

Orient Daily gathered that the motivating factor that has allowed the gruesome murders to flourish in the community is the combus­tible mixture of greed, envy and power drunkenness as­sociated with the inability of the state government to re­lease the white paper of an administrative panel of in­quiry led by Hon. Justice F.R. Nwizu, set up by Governor Willie Obiano to look into the community’s disturbances, despite several petitions by concerned stakeholders from the community appeal­ing that the white paper be released.

This neglect on the part of the government has con­tinued to disrupt peace in the area, as opposed to the reason for which an Akanu Ibiam-led Obosi Peace Pan­el was formed in 1986, to look into the conflicts in the town.

Orient Daily further gath­ered that the issue has its roots in the action of former governor Peter Obi, who against the Obosi Chieftain­cy Constitution, approved an elected traditional ruler and issued him a certificate. Similarly, Governor Obia­no’s failure to release the white paper of the Nwizu-led administrative panel has also proliferated the lev­el of crime and corruption in the community.

The Obosi Peace Panel found out that on November 16 1974, there was an agree­ment between Igwe I.R.E Iweka (Igwe Iweka II) and the representatives of Umu­ezeagu and Umuokwasala families on the rotation­al succession of the Obosi throne between the families.

It faulted the absence of a written chieftaincy con­stitution for the misunder­standing in the selection and installation of the tradi­tional ruler, and initiated the constitution through a care­taker committee, in compli­ance with Section 12 and 13 of the state Traditional Rul­ers Law, 1981.

According to the Obosi Chieftaincy Constitution, only the ‘Umuokwasala’ and ‘Umuezeagu’ families, both in Umuota village constitute the royal families.

The succession of the kingship (Eze-Obosi) is ex­pected to alternate between the two families, and ro­tate among their respective sub-families, whose duty shall be to select and pro­duce a candidate for instal­lation as the traditional ruler.

According to our source, “the former state gov­ernment caused prob­lem by conferring Al­bert Chidubem Iweka of Umu-ezeobodo sub-family of Ezeagu kindred with the certificate of kingship, when it was the turn of the Imebagha sub-family to produce the king.

“In a letter dated 15th February 2013, written by a group in the community to the state government, allegations of corruption were levelled against Igwe Iweka, but the state gov­ernment kept mum, despite warning by the group that the tension if left unchecked would lead to catastrophe.

“The people of the town have held several protests, opposing the purported imposition of Igwe Albert Chidubem Iweka as the traditional ruler of Obosi kingdom, on the grounds that his selection and instal­lation goes contrary to the stipulation of the chieftain­cy constitution.”

“The truth is that it is not yet the turn of Umuezeobo­do sub-family of Ezeagu kin­dred where Chidubem Iwe­ka belongs to produce the traditional ruler, because the kingship left Umuezeobodo in 1966 upon the demise of Igwe I.R.E Iweka.

“Subsequent upon the demise of Igwe Engr. J.U. Nwakobi of Umuodogwu sub-family in Okwasala kindred in September 2011, it became apparent that the Imebagha sub-family will produce the next king of Obosi”.

He decried that Igwe Chidubem Iweka alleged­ly usurped the throne on claims that he was elected, contrary to Section 4 of the Obosi Chieftaincy Constitu­tion of which his uncle, Igwe I.R.E Iweka and Chief Emeka Anyaoku were signatories, noting that Obosi kingdom has never held elections in respect of successor to the throne.

In 2015, the Integrity and Progressive group of Obosi kingdom drew the attention of Governor Willie Obiano to the recommendations of the Obosi Peace Panel set up by the Government of Old Anambra State, sequel to which the Obosi Chieftain­cy Constitution was intro­duced.

They also drew his atten­tion to the high level of inse­curity, crime and corruption in the community, owing to alleged institutionalisation of cultism by the traditional ruler, who they accused of being a suspect. They cited a letter written by the for­mer A.I.G, Chief G.E. Okeke, who is also the Diokpa Ezisi of Ezechima kindred, Obosi to back their claim.

The suspension of the President General of Obosi Development Union (ODU), Sir Dan Igbokwubili on 28th March 2016, formed part of the agitation of some in­digenes of the town, who blamed the state govern­ment’s negligence for pur­ported militancy acts of the present traditional ruler of Obosi.

A close source disclosed to Orient Daily that Igwe Chidubem instigated some rebellious group to purport the suspension of the PG, af­ter assaulting him during an ODU meeting that ended in a fiasco.

He decried that the state government through the of­fice of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Chieftaincy and Town Union Matters, tried to organise a bye-elec­tion for the office of the PG, and faulted the credibility of the SA who consented to a bye-election for an of­fice, when the duly elected official for that office is still alive and has not completed his tenure.

The traditional ruler has also been accused by some indigenes of the community as being instrumental to the extra-judicial killings of Ok­wuchukwu Michael Obiesie, Ramsy Anekwu and Tochuk­wu Nebo.

In a letter dated 11th July, 2016 and addressed to the Anambra State Govern­ment, the group appealed to Governor Obiano to release the White Paper on Obosi Community Disturbances, reminding him that an ad­ministrative panel of inqui­ry led by Hon. Justice F.R. Nwizu, which he set up to further look into the matter had in March 2016 closed sitting and submitted their recommendations.

After five months of the government keeping mum on the White Paper the In­tegrity and Progressive Group again on 23rd Decem­ber, wrote to the office of the state government demand­ing the release of the white paper all to no avail.



IGWE’s REACTION



However, HRH, Igwe Chidubem Iweka Eze Iwe­ka III was full of thanks to God that peace has finally returned to the embattled town, saying the community has been able to contain the hoodlums and trouble mak­ers. “There are no more cri­sis in Obosi community,” he declared. He stated that all the allegations against him were false.

Iweka, who spoke to Orient Daily, said since the emer­gence of Dr. Willie Obiano as governor of Anambra state, the crisis in Obosi town had been abated as a result of the governor’s relentless fight against crime and criminality in the state. ”We are enjoy­ing the peace brought by the new governor”.

He admonished politi­cians to desist from using youths as thugs, stressing that youths should not allow themselves to be used as weapons of mass destruc­tion by desperate politicians who seek political power at all costs.

The monarch disclosed that the activities of drug-dealers in Obosi com­munity have been contained and curtailed to the barest minimum. He solicited the cooperation and support of security agencies and other relevant bodies to combat the drug scourge in Obo­si community, pointing out that youths in the area were being corrupted and lured into the criminal acts with drugs being the mother of all criminality.

source
https://orientdailynews.com/obosi-throes-cult-war

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