15 houses razed, property destroyed in communal strife

By Anayo OKOLI, Umuahia
NO FEWER than 15 houses, including shops and other properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira were burnt last Wednesday when militants youths from Okauiga Nkwoegwu autonomous community, Abia state, attacked their neighbouring Umuosu autonomous community.

Over 300 plastic chairs jointly belonging to the two communities were said to have also been destroyed  Also, over seven persons sustained serious injuries during the fracas which disrupted a week free medical services organized for the community by Niger Delta Development Commission [          NDDC] and sent many families of Umuosu community taking refuge in neghbouring communities.

Meanwhile, some more houses and properties, including the palace of Eze of Umuosu Okaiga autonomous community, Eze Nzenwata Mbakwe have been marked for destruction, even as some prominent members of the community were alleged to have been marked out for elimination.

Though the immediate cause of the crisis was the free medical services which the Okaiga Nkwoegwu youths, wanted to be incharge of the organization of the exercise as against the President General of the Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Federated Union, Chief Ezekiel Nwosu, there was an existing deep rooted animosity between the two communities.

Since Umuosu was created from Okaiuga Nkwoegwu as an autonomous community, it was learnt that Owoghiri who was against its creation, because he saw it as reducing his domain, had not been happy and had been at daggers drawn with the traditional ruler of the new community, Eze Nzenwata Mbakwe, said to be a former good friend the Okaiuga Nkwoegwu monarch. Meanwhile, a detachment of anti-riot police men have been stationed in the area to forestall further trouble.