‘My Cousins Want To Kill Me’ – Imo Octogenarian Cries Out

An octogenarian village head, Oha Amaechi, has cried out to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, that his cousins want to kill him and set his house ablaze.

The head of the Umumbirihe kindred of Umuosu, Naze in the Owerri North Local Government Area of the state, alleged that his cousins, Chijioke and Chike Amaechi, shot at him three times, adding that it was providence that saved him.

Narrating his ordeal on Thursday in Owerri, Oha stated the Amaechi family was polygamous and that he was having problems with his cousins due to a land dispute.

He stated, “As the eldest man in the family, when some portions of our land were sold by them, I was not told. These cousins of mine shared the money among themselves without depositing it in the family account.

“I hereby call on the IG, the CP and chieftains of other security agencies in the country to come to my aid immediately before these younger cousins of mine kill me and take over my children’s inheritance, thereby leaving my immediate family to suffer.”
He further stated that his cousins came to him to demand the sum of N300,000 for the prosecution of numerous family land cases they had in court.

When contacted on the telephone, Chijioke dismissed the allegation, saying, “It is not true that I and others want to assassinate Oha.

“What happened was that we had a family dispute, which is on the verge of being resolved, but Oha does not want to tow the line of peace. He is using the police to intimidate us. How can we assassinate somebody we are better off?”

Chike, who also spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, explained that it was a family dispute that was about to be resolved.

He stated, “I am a retiree on Grade Level 13 from the Government House, Owerri. As an accounting officer, I don’t have anything to do with Oha as I handed over the bank withdrawal slip to him as we agreed to. I have never handled a gun before and I don’t have any intention of killing him as he alleged.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikeokwu, said he had not been briefed on the matter.