Man hacked to death, as leadership tussle turns bloody in Anambra community

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

HOMICIDE detectives attached to Anambra State Police Criminal Investigations Department, CID, are working round the clock to unmask culprits responsible for killing one Mr. Emmanuel Nwankwo, a father of six and a vigilante operative attached to Okpoko community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state.

Nwankwo, a native of Ebonyi State, was hacked to death by a group of rampaging youths over leadership tussle in Okpoko community.

The leadership tussle is between its President, Chief Edwin Emesinwa and Chairman of the caretaker committee, Mr. Linus Ezenwanma.

Court judgment

Emesinwa had approached an Onitsha High Court, presided over by Justice Chudi Nwankwo asking the court to reinstate him as President of Okpoko town union.

The court, which ruled in his favour, directed Ezenwanma, a nominee of the state government, to step down as chairman, caretaker committee of the town union.

Armed with the court judgement, Emesinwa and his executive used the court bailiff and some policemen to flush Ezenwanma and his committee members out of office and then took over the mantle of leadership of the community.

Attack

Barely 48 hours after Emesinwa and his supporters assumed office at the union’s secretariat, a group of armed men launched an attack against them at the secretariat.

In the ensuing encounter, Nwankwo, the vigilante operative was hacked to death, while three of his colleagues, who accompanied him, escaped death by the whiskers.

Police story

Several attempts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nkiruka Nwode, failed as she did not pick calls to her phone.

However, confirming Nwankwo’s death, the Divisional Police Officer at Okpoko, Mr. Gabriel Elaigwu, who told newsmen that his (Nwankwo’s) corpse had been deposited at the nearby hospital mortuary, while he had sent a signal to the state CID for thorough investigations.

Eliagwu, a Chief Superintendent of Police, noted that he could not dabble into the matter because before the incident, both Emesinwa and Ezenwanma had already been on each others’ throat, leading to Ezenwanma reporting the matter at Zone 9 Police Headquarters, Umuahia, while Emesinwa headed to Inspector-General’s office in Abuja.

He added that the matter was being investigated at that top level and as such now beyond his control.

Accusation, counter-accusation

When contacted, Emesinwa told Vanguard that he was in Umuahia, where he had gone to lodge complaint against Ezenwanma to the IGP’s squad at Zone 9 Umuahia.

However, Ezenwanma said Emesinwa and his group should be thoroughly investigated about the murder, because they were the ones that came to take over the mantle of leadership in his absence and in a seat which, according to him, is not vacant by virtue of his appointment by the state government as Chairman of Okpoko town union caretaker committee.

 

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