Tension grips Enugu community over Igweship stool
TENSION has enveloped Mburubu in Nkanu East Local Council of Enugu State, following a violent clash among the supporters of two candidates laying claim to the community’s royal stool. The Guardian learnt that the clash, which occurred on Sunday, February 4, left some villagers, including the ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in Mburubu, Egbo Stephen, injured.
The community has been embroiled in crisis as it prepares to replace its deceased traditional ruler, Igwe Emmanuel Ezeh ( Ozulumba I of Mburubu Kingdom).
Two persons, Patrick Onuokaibe and Linus Igbudu, have both claimed they are the authentic Igwe- elect.
Onuokaibe, last Saturday, had a reception organised for him at the public primary school in the area. The event, it was gathered, did not go down well with some members of the community, who, the previous day, had sent out town criers to announce that anybody that attended would be fined.
Trouble started when, on Sunday morning, some enforcers of the sanction moved to the houses of some alleged defaulters and seized their belongings, pending when the fines would be redeemed. The action, however, resulted in a free- for- all.
Speaking with newsmen, Stephen thanked God for saving his life, that of his family, and other community members.
Accusing the state Commissioner for Science and Technology, Lawrence Ozoemena Ezeh, of sponsoring the attacks, Stephen said some community members had to run to other villages for safety.
“I was beaten to a stupor by some thugs sent by Ezeh for having attended the grand finale of our Igwe elect, Onuokaibe. We refused their intimidation and attended the event because we unanimously chose him to lead us.
“It started on Friday, when one Ambrose Anobi, with a metal gong, went round the villages informing people not to attend Onuokaibe’s grand reception or face a penalty of N100,000. When we came back, they started attacking our people, especially the vulnerable ones. Some ran into bushes, some were locked inside their houses while others ran to Onuokaibe’s house," he said.
When contacted, Ezeh denied having a hand in the said incident. He disclosed that he got the information while he was in the church on Sunday, and promptly asked the divisional police officer in charge of Nkanu East Council to ensure that anybody whose property was seized got it back.
He accused Onuokaibe of sponsoring a smear campaign against him “to see whether he can achieve his bogus claim of being the traditional ruler of my community.”
Ezeh explained: “What’s going on is that the man who calls himself Onuokaibe had approached me to help him become the Igwe. He approached me with a mouthwatering price. But I told him, in honesty, that it is not the turn of his village to produce the Igwe and therefore, I will not give my support. When he saw that I wasn’t going to bend, he vowed that he was going to bring me down and ensure that the governor sacks me as commissioner.”