By Enyim Enyim

ONITSHA—The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe weekend, granted amnesty to some erring Onitsha indigenes, allegedly ostracised by the community for acts capable of destabilising the corporate existence of the town.

In a statement,  titled “Proclamation of General Amnesty” read by the monarch  to the people of Onitsha in his Ime Obi Palace, Achebe said  the amnesty was in line with his declaration at his first Azu-Ofala Festival, held on 11 October 2002, when he ascended the throne.

“At my Azu – Ofala on 11October 2002, I declared  that peace and reconciliation based on truth and transparency as  the foundation for sustainable development, would be the defining theme of my era on the throne of Ezechima,” he said.

However, reacting to the Igwe’s amnesty, one of the ostracised persons, Mr Chudi Obieze, and lawyer to two of those who contested the throne with Achebe, Nwamulunama Onyejiekwe and Chief Godwin Odukwe, said they were not criminals to be granted amnesty, describing the gesture as an insult to him, his clients and all those purportedly ostracised by the community.

Achebe noted that his regime started well on the journey to re-invent  Onitsha  and have achieved modest gains at re-inventing themselves as a people and building peace and reconciliation within their community.