Imo: Wife, children on the run as Amucha community reburies exhumed kinsman

Amucha was one huge Community in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State prior to her being splitted into about four autonomous communities. The Community is known for her high cultural, moral standards and ready at all times to sanction anyone within its community who refuses to obey her set standards.

This may have accounted for why Mrs. Edith Onyeriri and her children who allegedly buried her husband at midnight in a shallow grave of less than one metre are on their heels since they did not consult family members and members of the community before the burial. “They ran away perhaps to avoid the consequences of their actions,” said a member of the family.

This same community in the early 1980s was also in the global news for wrong reasons, but it was caused by a natural disaster beyond their control and this attracted the visit of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari to the area.

Investigations from Amucha Ohonnya revealed that Amucha clan resides in the Valley of Njaba River in Imo State. The community stretches for about 6km along the Northern Bank of the River Njaba which seems to be responsible to the popular “Amucha Erosion Disaster.

In 1980, Imo State Government, headed by Governor Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe included the erosion site among its itinerary for the scheduled visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

After visiting the site personally and receiving the shock of his life from the monstrous devastation, he, Shagari directed the Federal Department of Agric charged with soil conversation and erosion control at that time to take over control of the management of Amucha erosion as well as awarded a contract for the effective control of the erosion through land fills, tree planting, relocating victims, construction of a drainage system, interceptor drains, culverts, well tarred roads to crisscross the valley with drains etc.

It was further gathered that over 35 families in Amucha Community have lost their homes due to the huge gullies measuring about 120 metres deep and 40 meters wide.

“The Devastating gully took away most of the arable land of an entire clan and plunged it’s people into penury, misery, loss of fishing rights, loss of spring fountains and original sources of drinking water, loss of farming rights, loss of worshipping rights and sacred grounds and loss of navigable waters.”   (Sunday Independent)