By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South
AT about 2.40 pm, December 25, last year, a talented 47 –year-old assistant director and coach with the Delta State Sports Council, Asaba, Delta State, Mr. Solomon Ogbogbo, who took a trip to his home town, Irri in Isoko South Local Government Area for the Christmas celebration, was shot dead by a “killer gang”.

UDUAGHAN

The impudence of it was that Ogbogbo was dragged on the ground by his killers like an animal before he was assassinated in broad daylight. Up till date, the gunmen have not been brought to book.

Besides, the late Ogbogbo, the son of the Odio-Ologbo (royal father) of the community was also beheaded and information available to Saturday Vanguard showed that no fewer than 15 persons have been murdered in the community, within the eight years. The entire episode points to a deadly power game by leaders of the community to control its affairs and also profit from the contracts and other largesse from the National Agip Oil Company, NAOC, operating in the town.

It was also gathered that more than 10 corpses of slain Irri young men and women are currently lying in the morgue of the General Hospital at Oleh.

Irri first caught national attention in 1989/90 when mobile policemen stormed the town to arrest Bishop Apena, an Irri indigene, who was then the second-in-command to  the former Archbishop of the Church of God Mission International, the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa,  to recover some money and church property in his possession following a misunderstanding. One of the mobile policemen was killed and this set the stage for the massacre of innocent Irri indigenes by armed mobile policemen who were on a revenge mission.

The traditional ruler, Ovieseriba Ojenuwe 11, the Odio-Ologbo Kingdom, who fled into exile, sometime ago, on account of the embarrassing situation, actually put the number of casualties so far at 18 at a recent press conference at Irri and asked the Federal Government to come to the rescue of the people. In fact, he pointed accusing fingers at a prominent son and business mogul from the town (names withheld), saying he was tired of the protracted crisis rocking his kingdom because of the inability of the police to curtail the activities of the said entrepreneur.

Saturday Vanguard learnt that Irri used to be a serene community, but, since the advent of Agip in the area, peace has taken a flight. At the moment, different “killer gangs” sponsored by the leaders, parade the town with guns in broad daylight. Hundreds of indigenes have fled the community to Oleh, Uzere, Emede, Aviara, Oyede and other towns.

Key players
They are some key players in the Irri power show. Among them is a fish magnate a renowned clergy man, NAOC, a business mogul, one or two powerful politicians and a traditional leader. It was gathered that Agip, which was recently served a two-week quit notice by the community under the leadership of the traditional ruler, Ojenuwe 11, has been operating in the area for a long time and is enmeshed in the consuming power game.

According to a community leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, “The truth is that a particular clique of leaders, were lording it over the community in between 2000 and 2002 in alliance with some officials of an oil company. All the contracts and largesse were controlled by this cabal and the community was crying for liberation”.

“That cry was what brought Chief Joshua Uturu, a business man from Lagos. Uturu is the person being fingered by this group now to be responsible for the crisis in the community, but, to my mind, I don’t think he is the Devil he is being painted”, he explained.

He continued, “What happened is that Uturu came as a liberator and you cannot liberate the people without setting up your own structures to destabilize the old order that you want to sack from leadership. The Irri people saw him as a liberator and so, he started putting up his structures on the ground with the support of the people. He had his own ‘boys” and when Agip saw that he is the choice of the people, it started dealing with him”.

Genesis
“This is how what has metamorphosed to a conflagration today in Irri started. But, indeed, it was the second Irri crisis. However, there is something of note here. When the leaders fight themselves, even destroying each other, the oil company keeps quiet, but when one side gets the upper hand, they identify with the winning side”, he said.

Riding on popular support, Uturu contested and became the president general of the community and expectedly, attention of the oil company shifted from the former leadership to him and he also won for a second time. But a source said it was his larger than life image was what his opponents wanted to cut to size.

Uturu who has become very powerful in the community became the target of a new power group, which wants to truncate his hold on power. One Efe Ogbomudia, alias Eferere, the leader of a youth group, was purportedly engineered by certain powerful forces, mainly politicians, who were not pleased with Uturu’s bourgeoning influence to do a yeoman’s job. However, he was killed at the venue of a peace meeting that was called to resolve the crisis.

The fear of those who hired Eferere was that with his position as president-general and exploits in his first tenure, Uturu would become a political generalissimo in the area. Already, there was rumour that he was eyeing a political office and the gang was unleashed to checkmate him.

Arrest and exit of Uturu
The death of Eferere was used as a major weapon by the new power group to basically nail him. He was accused of killing Eferere. He was also accused of killing Edioina Umukoro, Peter Aruno, Harrison Uzokpa, Okemute Okogba and Clement Oghighe between September and December, 2009.

Uturu was arrested by the police for multiple murders by the police and charged to court. On August 20, 2010, while in prison custody, he resigned his position as president general of the Irri Development Union, IDU, citing “controversy, divisions and unwarranted hullabaloo”.

The monumental ignorance about the office that is viewed as a honey pot is painfully laughable and indeed, laughably painful. My continuing in office is seen as making the honey pot inaccessible to vested interests.

This accounts for our local community elections being acrimonious, acerbic, bitter and rancor-filled. The build-up to this election eloquently testifies to this. This should not be.

“To the contrary, I made personal sacrifices for the overall good of our community. But I resent being the obstacle to peace that was hard won. Therefore, in the higher and collective interest of our community, I make the sacrifice of putting community interest before mine if that will make peace to reign”, he said.