Igweship Tussle: Women Group Protest Killing Of 5 Youths, Declare 4 Kidnapped, 20 Missing

By Chuks Eke

The intra-communal strife resulting from the ongoing chieftaincy tussle at Ogwuaniocha community in Anambra state’s Ogbaru Local Government Area continued unabated yesterday, with a factional women group protesting against the ongoing killings, abductions, and arrests of their sons and husbands by those they perceived as their opposition parties, aided by security agencies.

The women’s protest comes just two weeks after those loyal to the community’s missing government-recognised traditional ruler, Igwe Oliver Nnaji, protested publicly in Onitsha, accusing some youths in the area, whom they identified as Lion Squad, of abducting Igwe Nnaji in 2021 and killing and maiming others who are loyal to Igwe Nnaji.

Mrs. Ngozi Freda Nnaji, wife of the missing Igwe Oliver Nnaji, and Nkemdilim Onwurah, a woman leader in the area during the protest, recounted what they termed as their individual and collective ugly experiences they encountered in the hands of the Lion Squad which they alleged was led by an Igweship contender in the area, Chief Okwudili Ogana who is currently remanded in prison custody for various allegations.

But in their protest yesterday in Onitsha, the factional women group loyal to Okwudili Ogana told newsmen that they have gone into hiding since 2021 when those loyal to Igwe Nnaji collaborated with security agencies to suppress Ogana who was already selected and crowned as the Igwe by the entire community, only for Nnaji to use his connection in government to grab the chieftaincy certificate and staff of office from the previous administration.

The women numbering over 20, and led by the wife of Chief Ogana, Loveth Ogana alleged that the rate of killings, abductions, and arrests of their husbands, sons, and relations by those they identified as Pillar Youths otherwise known as Oliver-in-council has become so alarming that they have no other option than to protest.

According to Mrs  Ogana, “They started attacking my husband after his selection and installation. The government should come to our rescue because the intimidation by these deadly  Pillar Youths is much. We don’t know anything about the whereabouts of the so-called Igwe Oliver.

“I urge Governor Soludo to prevail on the Pillar Youths to release the husbands of those women and stop attacking us and killing our sons. Now pillar youths have declared us wanted and attack us daily,” she explained.

“We are therefore urging Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, to come to our rescue, even though we are insisting that the militant killer Pillar Youths have declared all of us who are in the opposing camp wanted and the said youths are in the payroll of a missing monarch, Igwe Oliver Nnaji”.

According to the protesters, some of them carried placards with the inscriptions, “Stop attacking us with Naval personnel,. Gov. Soludo comes to our rescue, releases our abducted husbands, and stops killing our sons, enough of this destruction of lives and property, among others, the pillar youths invade and attack them daily in their various camps in the area where they are taking refuge.

In her contribution, Mrs. Augustina Obijiadi Ejiofor, whose husband was abducted said, “My husband, Sunday Ejiofor, was abducted by Pillar youths when we went to sympathize with a relation that was bitten by a snake. Also, my husband’s brother was arrested by the same youths and is now at Awkuzu SARS. They didn’t commit any offense”.

“The problem in the community is lgweship/oil revenue derivation. Our monarch, Igwe Okwudili Ogana is now in detention, they started to attack him when he was installed as our monarch. They accused him of being responsible for the disappearance of one Oliver Nnaji who claimed to be our monarch by imposing on us himself as the igwe to collect oil money from our oil-rich community”.

“Oliver calls us amusu, (witchcrafts), for opposing him and always sends his pillar youths to abduct us and declare us wanted, in collaboration with the Navy, police, and Ebube Agu security outfit,” she further explained.

“We plead for the release of our abducted husbands and for them to stop killing our sons and destroying our property, we ran to camps where we have stayed for about three years without help and they come and abduct us there daily.

“Their people in Diaspora supply them with weapons and money to attack our boys who also fight them. Our boys are the Lion Squad,” she further disclosed.

In her contribution, Ndidi Ikechukwu Ohamanwa, sister to the detained Igwe Ogana disclosed that she was detained for five months just because she is a sister to Igwe Ogana who they accused of opposing the missing Igwe Nnaji.

“We have been declared wanted by Pillar Youths to be killed, some of our sons killed by Pillar youths were buried in the camps because of fear of burying them in their fathers’ compound.

We are protesting the abduction of our husbands, the constant killing of our youths, and arrest by Pillar youths in collaboration with Navy and other security operatives,” she hinted.

In her reaction, ljeoma Elumeziegbo whose husband was abducted, including her son-in-law, by Pillar Youths, said that she has not set her eyes on her husband and son-in-law since they were abducted a few weeks ago.

“At a point, our President General, PG, and the warring factions agreed that all abducted people should be released and we released those our people were holding but the Pillar Youths didn’t release our husbands and others they were holding till today

“The pillar youths and their people call us unknown gunmen to blackmail us when they are the unknown gunmen. Their people in the Diaspora supply them weapons and money which they use to attack and kill us,” she lamented.

Mrs Njideka Anene, a woman whose son, Uzodinma Anene, was killed, cried to Gov. Soludo to come to the rescue of the people adding that her 34-year-old son was killed in the camp when the pillar youths stormed it.

“He was married with two kids and now, l, an old woman takes care of the two kids left by my son. They still attack us in the camp where we run to for safety, she maintained.