Ikechukwu Ani murdered in Asaba, fear in Onitsha

Palpable fear has allegedly gripped commercial tricycle (Keke na-pep)

operators in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State

following the murder in cold blood of the Onitsha South local

Government Area, state government tricycle revenue collection agent,

Mr Ikechukwu Ani.

Mr Ani met his untimely death when he was ambushed on coming from his

Asaba residence, Delta State capital, to Onitsha where he does the

keke business when he was reportedly murdered by a suspected rival

group.

According to a member of the keke operators in Onitsha, Mr Ebuka

Nwafor, “we heard he was coming to work from his house in Asaba, when

some armed men operating in four tricycles, said to be the gang that

has been terrorising keke operators in Onitsha and environs, ambushed

him at the Asaba end of the Bridge Head approach, stabbed and shot him

severally but because the knife and bullets could not penetrate his

body, his assailants, on the order of their leaders who are simply

identified as Agama and Kapuyaukwu, transferred him to Oko, a suburb of

Asaba, and continued the stabbing as also directed by their native

doctor, until he eventually died”.

“As they were taking his corpse to be thrown into River Niger, on a

tip-off, a local vigilante group in the area, in company of police

team, confronted them and arrested four of them while others escaped”.

“The deceased who is from Enugu state, was giving the contract for

revenue collection in Onitsha South by the Anambra state government, a

development which did not go down well with the leaders of the rival

group (assailants) especially as they accused him of doing the keke

business here in Anambra instead doing it in his home state, warning

him that they will kill him if he continues to take the keke contract”

“Before this murder of Ani, the group has a pending murder case which

the corpse of the person is still in a morgue as the suspects are on

the run with their leader, simply identified as Mgbiligba”

“Mgbiligb boasts at anywhere and at anytime that he is above arrest

that a powerful senator in Anambra state is behind him and we believe

him because he has never been detained for more than three days in all

the murders and atrocities he has been committing”

“The case is with the Fegge police station Onitsha and they shot one

Obumse on the leg the same day, they shot dead their earlier victim

because of same keke issue”

Contacted on the alleged earlier murder and shooting of one Obumse,

the Fegge Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Mr Rabiu Garba, confirmed

the incident adding that “about seven of them have been taken to court

while others are still at large”

Contacted on the murder in Oko, Asaba suburb, the Delta state Police

Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr Andrew Aniamaka did not respond to

calls put across to him but a senior police officer who pleaded

anonymity said “we arrested some who are helping us in the

investigation.”