By Anayo Okoli, Umuahia
THE 88 year traditional ruler of Bende Auto-nomous community in Bende council area of Abia state, Eze Ariwodo Kalunta has alleged threat to his life and that of his family members and called on the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim to protect them from those he called “enemies who want them dead”.

The monarch also alleged that the people invaded his compound last Monday with scores of armed policemen and plain clothes security operatives and buried “an unknown corpse” in his compound.

According to him, he was held hostage in his room upstairs where he was recuperating from an illness while his wife and other members of the family were assembled down stairs and held hostage for hours while the said burial lasted.

Eze Ariwodo, a medical doctor and the first psychiatrist doctor in the defunct Eastern Region, also alleged the people who invaded his house were led by his two married daughters and accompanied by other people he described as “thugs” and some police men from Bende, including the Divisional Police Officer in Bende.

Saturday Vanguard however, learnt that the “unknown corpse” was the remains of his estranged 52 year old medical doctor son, Lawrence Kalunta, who had engaged him in a long standing legal dispute.

He was said to have died last year.

Because of the much soured relationship between them, said to have dated years back, the Eze was said to have disowned the late doctor and vowed never to have anything to do with him.

“They gave the cabal money to harass and held us hostage. Our lives are threatened. I was not brief before the burial. I was not even informed of the death. My house is not a cemetery”, he said, even as he lamented what he went through in the hands the late estranged son.

“We were kept in siege. A brother, a lawyer was a principal actor in the whole crisis. They held the family members hostage for hours. Two plain cloth security operatives who led the operation claimed that they were ordered from above. We were not shown any warrant. The way they came we took them to be kidnappers. That was not how security operatives work, they operated like criminals.

“I am calling on the Inspector General of police to protect us. They even threatened to come back to deal with me and my family. So we appeal to the inspector General of police to protect us from these evil people”, the monarch urged.

When contacted on telephone, the Abia state police commissioner, Bala Hassan said he was not aware of the incident.

Hassan, however, explained that the police are usually informed at burial that are controversial to avoid break down of law and order, saying that if the police were there, that they came to maintain peace and order.