Father of 6, Security man hacked to death, 3 others escape, security van smashed as Okpoko communal leadership crisis deepens

www.odogwublog.com reports that tension is brewing in Okpoko community in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra State as a team from homicide department Awka attached to the state Criminal Investigations Department, CID of Anambra state police command are working round the clock to unmask those behind the murder of one Mr. Emmanuel Nwankwo, a father of six and a vigilance operative attached Okpoko.

Nwankwo, a native of Ebonyi state, was hacked to death by a group of rampaging youths who were believed to be resisting the taking over of mantle of leadership of Okpoko community by Chief Edwin Emesinwa as President-General of the community, from Hon. Linus Ezenwanma, the care-taker committee chairman.

An Onitsha High Court, presided over by Justice Chudi Nwanwko had in its recent judgment in a civil suit filed by Emesinwa asking the court to return him back to seat to complete him tenure as the P-G of Okpoko town union, granted Emesinwa's prayers and asked him to take over the mantle of leadership from Hon. Ezenwanma who the state government appointed the care-taker committee of the town union many years ago.

Armed with the court judgment in his favour, Emesinwa and his executive used the court bailiff and some policemen to flush Ezenwanma and his care-taker members out of office and then took over the mantle of leadership of the community on Tuesday.

Barely 48 hours after Emesinwa and his supporters assumed office at the union's secretariat, the group of armed men suspected to be Ezenwanma loyalists  laid ambush at the secretariat at about 9 p,m and allegedly launched what appeared to be a resistant onslaught against the Emesinwa group and in an ensuing encounter, Nwankwo, the vigilance operative was hacked to death, while three of his colleagues who drove with him to the secretariat to park their security van, barely managed to escape death by whiskers.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Nkiruka Nwode (ASP) could not pick her calls after several attempts to reach her on phone, but the Divisional Police Officer, DPO at Okpoko, Mr Gabriel Elaigwu, a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP who simply confirming the death of Nwankwo, told newsmen in his office that Nwankwo's corpse had been deposited at the nearby hospital mortuary, while he had sent a signal to the state CID, for thorough investigations on the matter.

Eliagwu noted that he could not dabble into the matter because before the murder 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, adding that the matter are already being investigated at that top level and as such now beyond his control.

When contacted, Emesinwa told newsmen on phone that he was in Umuahia where he had gone lodge the complaint against Ezenwanma to the IG's squad at Zone 9 Umuahia.

On his own part, Ezenwanma told newsmen on phone that he was in far away Enugu concluding his final year examinations in one of the tertiary institutions, adding that he was not even aware of the incident yet.

Ezenwanma added that Emesinwa and his group should be thoroughly investigated about the murder because they were the people who 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 care-taker committee.

One of the three other vigilante operatives who escaped death from the hands of the armed youths, Ikechukwu Nwadibia told newsmen that he saw Ugochukwu Ejezie, the secretary to Ezenwanma-led care-taker committee and even Ezenwanma himself commanding the youths that killed Nwankwo and also wanted to kill him before he escaped with injuries they already inflicted on him.

The President of Okpoko community youths, Comrade Obinna Udensi also told newsmen that Ezenwanma did not want to vacate office for Emesinwa in defiance of court order because he has the backing of the member representing Okpoko in Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Benson Nwawulu.