…Address insecurity Challenges, Water Scarcity in Ishielu residents Urge Council Boss
OBINNA UCHENDU Abakaliki
The Ebonyi State Police Command have confirmed the killing of a school Proprietor and one other person by suspected Gunmen in Agba community, Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, confirmed the killing of the two persons in the community.
SP Ukandu stated that he will get details of the incident from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ishielu Local Government.
“Yes, I know there was an incident somewhere in Ishielu, but I will call the DPO of the area to get more information about it,” he said.
Narrating the community ordeal to journalists, the town Union President, Mr. Sunday Chukwu Nwadibia, gave the names of the deceased as Sunday Oyibe, a school proprietor, and Chukwu Ebuka.
Nwadibia said the community has been witnessing attacks and robberies since last year, which have led to loss of lives, cash running into millions, and properties worth millions of naira.
He revealed that before the killing of Sunday Oyibe and Chukwu Ebuka, the hoodlums attacked a POS operator in the community and dispossessed him of N2.7 million.
The town union president, who said that the hoodlums usually wear military camouflage with bullet-proof vests, also snatched a Toyota Corolla car and five motorcycles from some members of the community when they started operating in the area.
He expressed dismay that their activities have crippled economic activities in the community and urged security agencies to come to the aid of the community.
“I was in my office when people started running, saying that armed robbers were robbing at our junction.
“So, everybody started looking for safety, not knowing that the hoodlums were coming very close to our own side in the community.
“Before we could notice it, we heard gunshots, and my workers and I also started looking for safety.
“The hoodlums advanced to another junction very close to my house, and that junction is called Orie Agba, and started operating there, and people started running.
“I climbed one upstairs and started watching the hoodlums. They started shooting heavily and approached my office, which I had locked already when I noticed their presence in the community.
They shot one Sunday Oyibe, the founder of Unique International School, who is also the chairman of the timbers association in Ishielu. We rushed him to the hospital, but he couldn’t make it.
“They shot another person, Chukwu Ebuka, who people said was dragging his iPhone with them.
“This is not the first time we are having this type of problem in my community. In January 2024, there was an attack on my house, and they shot every door and window in my house, but God protected us, and none of us in the house were hit by bullets.
“That same last year, they snatched a Toyota Corolla car from a member of our community and also snatched five motorcycles from their owners.
“Two months ago, they came to Orie Agba and attacked a POS operator there and took N2.7 million from him. Last month, they came to our market and kidnapped a man.
“These hoodlums always mask their faces, and they always operate at night. They wear military uniforms and always wear bullet-proof vests so that when you see them, you will think they are soldiers.
Ever since they started operating in our community, there has been anxiety, and we no longer move around or do business at night. Once it is night, you can’t see anyone outside,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Residents of the different communities in Ishielu Local Government Area have expressed concern over the incessant gunmen attacks and perennial water scarcity in the different communities in the area and maintained that if urgent steps are not taken to address it, the people will be prone to security danger and waterborne diseases.
Speaking with journalists on the high level of insecurity and perennial water scarcity in the area, some of the residents urged the Council Boss, Mrs. Peace Agwu to immediately declare a state of emergency on the criminal activities going on in the Local Government and the water problem in the area.
A resident, Mr. Ifeanyi Eze expressed the regret that the council chairman has not been able to put security modalities in place to apprehend the armed robbers and hoodlums terrorizing the innocent citizens of the different communities adding that crime and criminality is in the increase in the local government.
Mr. Eze noted that the people now live in fear and hardly goes about their normal business because of the fear of the unknown. When you visit several communities in Ishielu today, people do not have access to portable water and it is something that the council chairman needs to address.
There is the need for her to focus on insecurity and provision of water for the people of the local government. The lives and properties of the people are at risk. We don’t want to experience another waterborne disease outbreak in the local government.
Another resident, Mrs. Ifeanyinwa Okafor also urged the Council Boss to summon a security meeting to address the robbery incident going on in the area.
She lamented that people can no longer carry out their businesses without the fear of losing their money. “We expect the Council Boss to give a matching order to security agencies in the local government to immediately fish out the hoodlums perpetrating the act and ensure that the local vigilante group becomes proactive. Ends
