Drama As Navy Invades Ebonyi Community, Exhume Remains Of Officer Who Was Beheaded By Residents

File photo used only for illustrative purpose

According to The Nation, the Nigerian Navy on Friday night invaded an Ebonyi community where a naval officer had gone missing last month.

The invasion followed painstaking investigation into the missing of the naval Officer who went missing in Umuogodoakpu Mgbo in Ohaukwu local government area.

Governor David Umahi stated this during his weekly live broadcast briefing to the people of the state on COVID-19.

He said investigations revealed that the Naval Officer was killed and used for rituals by the people of the area with his head taken away by one of his killers.

The community has been having a decade- long bloody land tussle with neighbouring Agila Community in Benue State.

Hundreds of lives from both sides have been lost and all efforts by successive governments of the two states to settle the dispute amicable have been unsuccessful.

It was gathered that the slain naval officer hailed from Benue State and his captors believed that he was from the neighbouring Agila community.

This made them to kill him in retaliation for recent deaths from alleged attacks by the Agila people.

He was said to have been in his way to Benue state and planned going through Effium, another community in the local government that doesn’t have any boundary issue with Benue.

But his GPS receiver system alleggedly malfunctioned and misled him into the Mgbo community where he was captured and allegedly beheaded.

Umahi, during the broadcast, revealed that the millitary during the invasion located and exhumed the remaining body of the naval officer

He said all those involved have been arrested following the raid by the millitary.

He vowed that they will all be charged to court to answer for their crimes.

According to him, one of the killers took the skull away after the rituals they perfomed with it.

He warned that his government will not tolerate crimes.

“This is not an animal. This is not an ordinary person, we are talking about a naval officer, our people must begin to have respect for the sanctity of human live”, he said.

On the killing of a 70-year- old woman in a boundary tussle between Ohankwu in Ikwo local government and Amana Ezza South, the Governor directed the traditional ruler of the Ohankwu community and all political appointees from the community must be arrested.

He said they will remain behind bars until they provide the killers of the woman.

Umahi also announced a dusk- to- dawn curfew from 7pm to 7am in the state starting from Sunday.

He said this is to forestall illegal entry into the state.

The state had closed its borders weeks ago as part of measures to forestall spread of the deadly Coronavirus into the state.

But some people managed to smuggle themselves in especially during the night with the aid of commercial motorcycle operators.