Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Gunmen on Friday invaded Umuihe autonomous community, Akaeze in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and killed the traditional ruler of the community, HRH Umazi Ibo Ubani.
It was learned that there were heavy shootings in the community by the gunmen during the invasion which caused pandemonium in the area as the people scampered for safety.
The Coordinator of Akaeze Development Centre, Chinasa Okorie, confirmed the incident.
He noted that the attack on the community occured at about 10:pm on Friday over the weekend.
He condemned the killing of the monarch, stressing it will be very difficult to get a traditional ruler of his nature.
Okorie described the monarch who is in his 60s as bold, fearless and intelligent whose wealth of experience would be greatly missed by the community, the local government and the state.
“Around 10pm last Friday, I received a call that there was shooting in the house of our traditional ruler, that after the shooting, it was discovered that our traditional ruler has been killed and that is the traditional ruler of Umuihe Autonomous Community, Akaeze, HRH Eze Umazi Ibo Ubani.
“This is a great loss to the community and Akaeze at large because he is a man of integrity, a man that would be difficult to replace because the man is intelligent, he is bold and he is fearless.
“The man does not know corruption because at all times, his integrity is always seen. I am very sad about his killing. It is a great loss to Akaeze Development Centre where I am the leader, Ivo Local Government and Ebonyi State.
“His voice is loud in Ebonyi State; he is a first class traditional ruler. The killing is a very bad incident,” he stated.
Okorie said only security agencies can know the cause of the incident and those behind it.
Another stakeholder from the community, Sinbad Ogbuatu, said the incident occurred late in the night on that past Friday.
He noted that the incident has caused tension and apprehension in the community, adding that markets and shops around the community couldn’t open for businesses.
“I have been calling everyone and nobody told me there was crisis or problem in the community to warrant such incident. Maybe when normalcy returns, we will know the cause of everything,” he stated.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Joshua Ukandu, who confirmed the incident said policemen were after the assailants.
“Immediately we got a distress call on the incident, we swung into action and the assailants have already left the scene by the time our men moved to the scene but we are trailing the assailants,” he said.
Similar incident happened on February 27, last year, when Eze Igboke Ewa of Umuezekoha in Ezza North LGA was brutally murdered in his palace by gunmen.
His assailants shot him repeatedly in the night after invading the compound.
Curiously, three days to his burial, last month, yet-to-be-identified arsonists burnt the palace of the late traditional ruler.
Prior to this period, the traditional ruler of Isuokoma autonomous community in Onicha LGA was abducted in his palace by gunmen on June 22, 2022, and his whereabouts were not known even after the abductors had allegedly collected an unspecified ransom.
