Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The Chairman of Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Emmanuel Ajah and Chairman of Amaeze Development Union in the local government, John Okorie have continued to trade accusations over the killings and skirmishes that occurred in the local government.
While Ajah accused Okorie of masterminding the killing of six persons from Amaeze and planning to impose a stooge on the community as his successor in the community’s development union election slated within this month, Okorie described Ajah’s allegations against him as laughable.
He further alleged that Ajah was the one perpetrating the killings and attempting to meddle into the affairs of the community which he has no right so to do.
Ajah alleged that during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Okorie was appointed Caretaker Chairman for 6 months, his tenure elapsed and the community rose and said he should hand over to another person but he refused and that because of this, about 4 persons died in a power tussle in the community.
“Government aided him to retain the office for 3 years and the12th of this month made it that 3 years. I met him as my friend and said, please you need to organise election for your people so that there will be peace in the community because that is the only place that we still have aggrieved people because of those that lost their loved ones during the struggle.
“He said that he wants to compensate the people that fought for him. I told him that this is not for compensation because we are aiming to unite everybody, leave this compensation of a thing so that we will do the election free and fair and anybody that wins will become the Chairman.
“He then said that there is a man that he wants to put for the position to compensate him, I said no it’s not good; allow everybody to participate. And later, he went behind to sponsor the man. In 2017 as a Youth President, he killed two brothers and did many other things,” Ajah alleged.
Okorie in his reaction, denied killing any member of the community and described Ajah’s allegation as laughable and baseless.
He opined that Ajah was nobody before becoming a local government chairman and that he was the one that gave him loan of N4.5million to run for chairmanship of the local government last year which according to him he has not finished paying for.
He accused the local government chairman of parading criminals as his loyalists who he said have been unleashing mayhem on the community.
Okorie said: “I am surprised that Ajah could open his mouth and talk ill of me when the former governor of the state, Dave Umahi told him to prepare for Chairmanship of Ivo and his oga, the then Commissioner for Information and State Orientation called me and begged me to assist him financially and I had to oblige him.
“I gave him a loan of N2.5million to enable him buy party forms for the election. I gave him cash free of over N400,000. The loan he is owing me is still over N1,5million and he has not finished paying for it.
“Ajah had no means of livelihood before he was made council chairman last year. He had never done anything else apart from youth restiveness.
“On the issue of killing of two persons in my community as alleged by the council Chairman, I never killed and person. I was in my house after the day’s work in 2013 when my house was invaded by two armed robbers who wer of the same parents; Obinna Ajah and Chukwuma Ajah.
“I was eating in my house when these armed robbers invaded my house and ordered me to lie down with a gun, I had no option than to obey them. They told me to go and bring money to them. I went inside my bedroom and brought N470,000 and gave them and they are not unknown persons, I knew them very well.
“The youths of the community whom I was their leader that time, came and asked who stole my money. Reluctantly, I told them the persons that came to my house and ordered me to lie down and later asked me to bring money to them.
“Out of anger, the youths went to look for those persons that stole my money, it was a mob action and they got them and killed them. I was not there. Years later, because of political lineage, political groupings, they wrote petitions against me and I went and answered it before the police and I was charged for murder.
“I was granted bail and the matter went on. Several months later, prosecution was unable to bring witnesses against me and the matter was struck out and I have the evidence on how the matter was struck out.
“So, coming back about 10 years later to start accusing me that I killed two persons in my community when there was no evidence against me, is laughable.”
