Enugu royal father alleges invasion of his residence

By IFEOMA AKA

Igwe Christopher Okwor, the Traditional Ruler of Ihekwuenu Aku Community of Enugu State, has cried out over an alleged invasion of his residence by suspected thugs.

Okwor told newsmen in Enugu on Saturday that the incident, which happened on June 22, caused serious trauma to his household.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government on Sept. 21 suspended the traditional ruler over his alleged role in the demolition of a house built by a philanthropist for a visually impaired native of the community.

He accused Mr Nnamdi Ezemagu, a legal practitioner, of sponsoring the thugs that invaded his residence.

He further alleged that the thugs were led by one Mr Michael Ilediagu, who identified himself as the Igbo Correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Enugu.

The royal father said that Ilediagu had prior to the invasion called to fix an interview with him in respect of his (Okwor) role in the demolition saga.

He said: “I was shocked that this same Ilediagu was used to track me and, indeed, led the thugs that invaded my house.

“At about 3pm on Wednesday, I received a call from someone who identified himself as the BBC Igbo journalist.

“He informed me that he was at my Nsukka residence for the interview as we agreed.

“I opened the gate and two of the five of them came in, while others remained in the mini-bus that brought them.

“Surprisingly, as we were about to get settled for the interview, they identified themselves as police officers from the State Criminal Investigation Department.”

He said that was not the first time his residence had been invaded, adding that a similar incident happened on Nov. 23, 2020.

He also spoke on his alleged role in the house demolition, saying: “The building in question is on a land where I have my house.

“The visually impaired man is not from our kindred. He has his own compound.”

Okwor said the only wrong he did was to stop Ezemagu from grabbing land in the community.

He said that Ezemagu was using the visually impaired man as proxy to grab the land as court documents revealed that he (Ezemagu) was contesting ownership of the land.

Okwor appealed to the state government, security agencies and Nigeria Bar Association to investigate the activities of Ezemagu.

When contacted, Ezemagu denied the allegations but declined further comments on the matter.

Also, Ilediagu confirmed that he contacted Okwor for an interview but denied leading thugs to his residence.

“I requested the man to grant me interview for BBC, Igbo news.

“And as we speak, one of his sons said he will kill me,” Ilediagu said. (NAN)