It was a tragic moments on yesterday morning as Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
of Enugu State visited Ukpabi, Nimbo, in Uzo-Uwani local government area
of the state. The community came under attack Monday morning, leading
to the reported death of about 21 persons acccording to source. The governor, who could not
hold back his tears, was in the company of Enugu State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu the GOC 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Major
General Ibrahim Attahiru, as well as the Enugu State Commandant, Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
The Governor, thereafter,
declared two days fasting and prayer in the State, asking residents to
commit the situation into God’s hand. “It calls for sober reflection;
this is a trying period, not just for this community but for all of us.
“On Sunday, we were in the church for Nigeria Prays, with General Yakubu
Gowon; I got a call from the council chairman and immediately, I
summoned a security council meeting; prior to that we had met with the
Fulani leaders, and it was indeed yesterday that we would have
inaugurated a joint committee of the Fulani and the Enugu government.
“Be that as it may, what has happened, has happened; this is not the to
blame any body; government will do what it is supposed to do; I
understand that economic activities have been shut down here, we will as
a government make available the sum of N5m to the leaders of this
community and then from there proceed to the hospital, settle all the
bills and then later we go to the next line of action.
“May I therefore,
call on the entire people of Enugu State to please fast for two days
and put this into the hands of God; Enugu is in the hands of God. I
re-assure this community that the government and the people of Enugu
State are behind you; your pain is our pain; you are the true heroes of
democracy and we cannot abandon you; that’s why I am here”, the Governor
stated. The visit coincided with the recovery of one more dead
resident, who was slaughtered by the herdsmen.
The victim, one Mr.
Ugwuogbu, who according to the community has brought number of recovered
dead bodies to 21, is a teacher serving in the community. Governor
Ugwuanyi was later at the palace of the traditional ruler of Nimbo, His
Royal Highness, Igwe John Ako, who described the attack as unprovoked.
“We had a black Monday yesterday; no week passes by without our women
being raped and our men killed by the herdsmen. “We appeal for military
and police presence; our people don’t go to farm again; they come to the
farm, point gun at the farmer, ask him to go away, and the cattle will
feed on the farm; we don’t go to farm again”, he lamented. Meanwhile, a
resident, who spoke earlier at the market square on behalf of the
residents, heaped blames on security agencies over the attack.
According
to him, “we were not taken unawares; we knew about this attack about
two weeks ago; we informed all the relevant security agencies but they
never took us serious; we are not happy; our hearts are bitter. “This
has been going on for years, right from the previous administration, we
have been crying but nobody has ever listened to us; we thank the
Governor for his quick visit. “But we plead with the government to
ensure that the army and the military remained here for months; this is
not a matter of disappearing after few days, because they will still
come back”. Some of the victims include a fresh graduate, Eze Patrick
Okechukwu, who just passed out from the NYSC few days ago, as well as an
80-year old man.
Another report states that a church building belonging
to the Christ Holy Church of Nigeria was burnt down completely.
Equally, only few residents, especially the youths were seen in the
community, even as the on-going Senior School Certificate Examination
had been suspended in the area. This is as many survivors, with various
degrees of injuries on the head, neck, and other parts of the body are
currently receiving treatment in different hospitals in Nsukka.
The
hospitals include Royal Cross Hospital, Bishop Shanahan Hospital and the
District Hospital, all in Nsukka. As at the time of filling this
report, some of them are being moved to the Enugu State University
Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu as well as the National Orthopaedic
Hospital, Enugu.