By Jude Michael
No fewer than 500 Awka indigenes last Wednesday, 22 November, trooped out in the capital city of Awka to protest what they described as mindless killing of their kith and kin, bribery and corruption; even as they accused the Nigeria Police of aiding and abetting cultism and cult related activities.
The protesters who moved from the popular Ogbugbankwa Park to Eke Awka Roundabout and from there to Igwebuike, Parkers Junction, Ukwu Orji, Area Command, and then back to Ogbugbankwa, were seen wielding placards of various inscriptions such as ‘’Enough is enough’’; ‘’Say no bribery and corruption’’; ‘’We are not happy’’; ‘’Our children, brothers, husbands, cousins, relatives are being killed on daily basis’’.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chief Richard Onuorah said they would no longer condone the killing and maiming of their people, adding that they were crying their eyes out every day owing to cult related killings in the community. This was even as he called for the removal of some personnel in the command.
He specifically called on Police hierarchy to immediately remove the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of SCID, and the inspector working directly under him, names withheld.
The protesters were also seen carrying a mock coffin symbolizing the burial of the accused, while giving a 7-day ultimatum for police to do the needful.
Onuorah said the protesters were drawn from Ezinano made of twenty villages from Awka.
Corroborating Chief Onuorah, Comrade Obi Ochije Modilim noted that they were tired of burying their kinsmen and called for an end to what he described as incessant killings and maiming of their people.
‘We want them to return the Blue Shield Operatives back to us. They should allow them to move from freely. We are okay with them. Blue Shield Operatives are the people we know. They have been securing us. We can’t continue like that. We want them back,’ he said.
For his part, the chairman of Ezinano Community, Mr Tochukwu Nwokoye, said they were embarking on a peaceful protest as a way of bringing to an end the unrest in Awka.
‘It is our humble hope to have these killings stop forthwith. Our brothers are going down on daily basis. We will not keep quiet and watch these heinous crimes and man’s inhumanity to man to continue. It is time to put a stop to it. We are really in a very tough situation. Palpable fear everywhere. We cannot go back and come back in peace. We are really afraid. People are dying every day,’ he said.
When contacted the Police Public Relations Officer at the Anambra Police Command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, stated that the police could not descend so low as to compromising security in the state capital, even as he said they would investigate the matter.
‘Those they mentioned their names are very experienced officers. They have been around, especially the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of SCID. These officers mentioned will be investigated. We cannot sweep the allegations under the carpet. We must do a thorough investigation.
‘As you can see, the state is mourning the former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinju. We would not want to heat up the state. We have asked the families of the deceased severally to come forward and prove their cases. The allegation that the Deputy Commissioner was recently transferred from Rivers State is false. He has been around. We know his antecedents; that’s not to say that we’ll not investigate all the allegations levelled against the police.
‘Awka has been relatively peaceful. We are working with the community and they have been providing us with vital information which led to the arrest of a notorious killer and he’s currently helping us out in investigations. He equally confessed to all manner of atrocious acts he has carried out in Awka. We are here to maintain law and order and not to cause chaos,’ Ikenga concluded.
Awka has for long been a theatre of cult related killings to the extent that barely any week passes without incidences of attacks. This has left many residents helpless and living in fear.
