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Bloody Battle for Traditional Stool

By newswatchngr.com 14/10/2011 05:29:00

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Efforts by the people of Akabor autonomous community in Imo State to select a successor to their late traditional ruler result in bloody clashes

Since the death of Abdul Jafaru Emetumah, the traditional ruler of Akabor autonomous community in Oguta local government area of Imo State in 2006, the area has not known peace.

The peace that existed in the community over the years has, indeed, evaporated over the tussle for the stool he left behind. Tears, sorrow, blood and violence have ravaged the community in the past five years. No fewer than five people have lost their lives in the Ezeship tussle raging among the indigenes in the race to succeed the late traditional ruler.

The community had agreed that the selection of the traditional ruler should be on rotational basis starting from zone A made up of Umuemem and Ndiokwu. Based on this, three candidates emerged-Kingsley Ahumaraezeama, a businessman, Joseph Nwoke, a Catholic Knight of Saint Mulumba and Michael Chima, a retiree of Shell Petroleum Development Company. They paid a non-refundable fee of N150,000 each. Newswatch gathered that the emergence of the trio polarised the area, with each faction poised for war. Some indigenes of the community who spoke to Newswatch alleged that violence was introduced into the contest by some aspirants to perpetually silence their opponents.

The height of the supremacy battle was the death of Ahumaraezeama, one of the Ezeship aspirants on July 17, 2008 and Joseph Amakonze on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, allegedly murdered by hired assassins. There are many theories surrounding the death of Ahumaraezeama. One version of the story is that the Ezeship aspirant jumped his fence in a bid to avoid police arrest and was fatally wounded, and later died. The proponents of this theory insisted that the autopsy conducted after his death showed that he died of heart attack with multiple bruises.

But in a letter to the commissioner of police, Imo State command, dated July 18, 2008, Chigozie Ndukwu, co-ordinator vigilante group and Lambert Onwuachumba, village chairman, alleged that Ahumaraezeama was killed by hired assassins allegedly sponsored by one of the Ezeship aspirants.

The third account, which was widely accepted among the indigenes was that Ahumaraezama was strangled to death by hired assassins and, thereafter, thrown down from his one storey building. Since then, it has been one crisis after another in the community. The crisis has led to the loss of several lives. Each crisis left in its trail, tears, sorrow and blood. Some homes were razed while the villagers deserted their homes. When Newswatch visited the community last month, the magazine met a tribe of anguished survivors who were still recounting their losses, even as tension was still high.

In fact, the death of Ahumaraezeama escalated the crisis in the area leading to more deaths. To calm the charged atmosphere, the Akabor Town Assembly, ATA, on November 15, 2008, suspended the selection, recognition, presentation and installation of any person as the traditional ruler. The town union also passed a vote of no confidence on the leadership of Matthias Nwabor, the president general and subsequently removed him. The union accused him of throwing the town into sorrow, state of confusion and chaos allegedly ‘through his dictatorial tendencies and inordinate ambition, Nwabor was also arrested after the murder of Ahumaraezeama and detained alongside other members of the Akabor town Assembly. Newswatch learnt that immediately Nwabor was released, he wrote a petition against Felix Ubah, the traditional prime minister and 21 others to the state Crack Squad of Imo State police command, which was transferred to zone 9, Umuahia for investigation. Nwabor and Onwu I. Onwu, another indigene, also filed a suit against the town union for his unlawful removal. However, the suit was struck out by the Oguta High Court which also upheld the election of Alphonsus Ojiawum as the new president general of the community.

There were also efforts by the town union to arrest and prosecute the alleged killers of Ahumaraezeama and Amakonze. The union wrote to virtually all relevant security agencies and the government of Imo State. On March 13, 2009, the Ministry of Justice, Public Prosecution Department, Owerri, wrote to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 9 Headquarters, Umuahia, asking that a prima facie case of murder be established against “Joseph Nwoke, Daniel Nwoke, Mathias Nwabor and Raymond Okechukwu Nwabueze.”

The zonal criminal investigation department was requested to arrest and arraign the quartet before the Imo State Magistrate Court of jurisdiction for “the murder of Nze Kingsley Ahumaraezeama and forward the charge sheet to the director of public prosecution to prefer information and prosecution.” Based on this, Daniel Nwoke and Raymond Nwabueze were arraigned before a magistrate court in Owerri on a two-count charge of conspiracy and the murder of Ahumaraezeama on August 20, 2009, before L.I. Ekwonye.

The charge read in part: “That you Daniel Nwoke’m,’ Raymond Okechukwu Nwabueze’m’ and others at large on the 17th day of July 2008, at Umunwocha Umuemem -Akabor in Oguta magisterial district, which pursuant to section 70 (1) CPA is brought under the Owerri magisterial district, did conspire among yourselves to commit a felony to wit: Murder, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516A (1) of Criminal Code, CAP C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 as applicable in Imo State.”

Count 11: “That you Daniel Nwoke’m’, Raymond Okechukwu Nwabueze’m’ and other at large, on the same date, place and Magisterial District, did murder one Kingsley Ahumaraezeama and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 319 (1) of criminal code, CAP C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 as applicable in Imo State.”

They were, however, granted bail amidst protests from the indegenes of the area who were not happy that Joseph and Matthias were left out. The people insisted that they ought to have been arrested alongside the duo and remanded in prison custody because of the gravity of their alleged offence. The case was also adjourned indefinitely. Since then, it has been a ding-dong affair.

Fredrick Okenwa, an indigene of the area, said Nwoke made frantic efforts to be presented at the Oguta local government headquarters as the Eze-elect of the community on February 4, 2009. “It took the intervention of the state government to stop the action to forestall a breakdown of law and order that the action would have generated. When that effort was thwarted, he allegedly used the Aguleri militants and miscreants to unleash mayhem on the people of the community. They inflicted matchet cuts on many members of the community. It was in the process that Amakonze was killed in Okwuege village,” he told Newswatch.

Nwoke said those who opposed him were mischievous elements who don’t think good of the community. “I am the Eze-elect and the custodian of culture in my community. I single-handedly brought the autonomous community. I am not supposed to contest for the throne with anybody. But some people don’t support that the traditional ruler should come from my side. The problem in my community is that of envy,” he said.