Anambra community jubilates, commends police over raid on torture camp

By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha

The people of Nsugbe community, Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, Thursday, jubilated and commended the zone 13 Police Command, Ukpop, for raiding an alleged uncompleted storey building at Egwuatu Estate, purportedly used as a torture camp by an illegal security outfit in the area.

According to them the police stormed the torture camp on Monday, arrested two of the operatives, recovered three guns, machetes, knives and charms they used against the people.

Expressing satisfaction with the raid, a High Chief in the community, Ichie Ndubisi Emo, said that, “We can now sleep with our two eyes closed. The people encroached on our community since 2021 and since then have been assaulting us and committing all manners of atrocities against us and have dragged us to Abuja to intimidate us on our land.

“They have no prove of ownership because we are the owners. They set up an illegal security outfit where they torture whoever that challenged them but everyday is for the thief and one day for the owner of the property. The police have shown them that they are illegal occupants.

“Funny enough, they use police and thugs to intimidate us until when God said that it was enough of the intimidation. Some of us have distanced ourselves from the land they encroached upon to save our lives and even the owner of the building they used as torture camp, fled the estate to avoid being killed because they told him never to come close to his building.

“This raid has given us hope that the police remain active and ready to do the needful when anything goes wrong and I commend the zone 13 Commander for coming to our rescue. God will bless him for us,” he prayed.

An elder in the community, Chief Udefi Akpeh Odikpo, who spoke on behalf of other elders traced the history of the disputed Egwuatu estate to when they inherited it from their forefathers adding that those who encroached on their land would regret it as the god of the land would fight them.

“I commend the police for coming to our rescue because these encroachers have dragged us to Abuja and Awka in a land that they do not own. We went to all these places with Agbolagbo people who also own part of the land,” he further disclosed.

Also reacting, Chief Edugo John Nwabudu, lamented that some people have died and some made homeless sequel to the encroachment by the unwanted elements even as he commended the police for the raid and arrest of some of the armed men who operated the torture camp.

“I thank God for the raid by the zone 13 police Command because these people have held us hostage since 2021 and if you oppose them you will be attacked. Let the police help us by Investigating them. We have every document to back up our claim of ownership of the land they are encroaching upon but they don’t have theirs. None of the illegal security operatives in the torture camp is from Nsugbe.

“You can see that every body is happy because of the raid, police from zone 13 went to the said estate and destroyed charms in a house used as torture camp where illegal security operatives were stationed to commit all manners of atrocities. They sacked the owner of the house, and warned him never to come to his house again” he explained further.

Expressing happiness and thanking God, the owner of the house, Mr. Ifesinachi Udemezue, said, they sacked and took possession of his house for all manners of illegalities. They warned me not to come to the house again and zone 13 Police invited me to narrate my ordeal which I have done.

“I am surprise that a building which I am yet to complete could be forcefully taken away from me by people I don’t know and our chairman, Ojukwu Samuel, has his life threatened for opposing them. So it is a thing of joy that the police have at last come to our rescue,” he stated.

Contributing, the general chairman of Christ the King Amalgamated Estate, made up of eight estates, Mr. Kingsley Nnanna, said that as far as he is concerned that the security men arrested were illegally stationed, hinting that he has names and locations of all security outfits in the entire estates, including the Egwuatu estate that is being encroached upon.

“I have been hearing of the attacks on the Egwuatu estate. You can’t invade somebody’s land and ask him to keep quiet,” he further maintained.

Pic shows cross sections of the torture house during the police raid.