A septuagenarian, Mr Reuben Onwuegbunem, has decried an attempt to banish him from his village, Orebe, Amansea in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The 75-year-old man called on security agents and the state government to come to his rescue after few elements allegedly connived and banished his family from the community.
The father of six said his son was attacked by two men, claiming to be members of the local vigilante in the village, for reasons not yet known to him.
According to him, two of the members of the vigilante group came to his house in the evening and started fighting with his son, who was outside urinating.
“I rushed out to ask them what the problem was and they started beating me too.
“The men immediately rang the village bell leading to other youths coming out to join in beating and dragging him on the floor.
“They also beat me, my son and my wife. They destroyed all the property in my house including two motorcycles. They said I have been disobeying the rules in the community,” he said.
Onwuegbunem appealed to the government and security agents to urgently come to his aid by visiting the community to ascertain the true situation of the matter.
He said he had reported the matter three times to police and the community’s president general.
“I am sure they consulted the president general before coming to destroy my house and he aligned with them for reasons I don’t know,” he said.
He said the only crime he committed was that he asked them to leave his land for his only surviving son.
One of the community leaders, Chief Cosmos Okonkwor, from Umuokpala village, said he was worried with the development and called for a peaceful resolution of the matter as it was beginning to hinder the development of the area
“Honestly this thing is strange to me. I have tried to call the Chairman of the Orebe village and others to come together and settle this matter to no avail,” he said.
The Chairman of Orebe village, Mr Okechukwu Nwafor-Iga, said the village has certain rules and regulations which were always being violated by Mr Onwuegbunem and his family members.
“The rules and regulations in my village were set even by the same man who has been violating them. All we want is peace and progress in our town. We can’t support evil at all. How can one person at all times be having issues with the entire village? It is unfair, he is an adult but not doing what is right,” he said.
A resident of the village, Mrs Charity Arinze, alleged that the man had been disrespecting constituted authorities by continuing to sell drugs and indulging in diabolic activities.
A former Chairman of the village, Mr Ejike Onyekwere, and a youth leader, Mr Chukwuonso Okafor, said that family was not banished; rather, Mr Onwuegbunem was running away from his crimes against his people.
“If he comes back today and shows remorse, we will accept him but on the condition that he will abide by the rules of our village,’’ Onyekwere said.
However, Onwuegbunem denied all the allegations, adding that they were cooked up to banish him from the village.
He said the matter is with the state police command and they are looking into it.
“Iam not selling hemp or doing any charm to kill any person or destroy the community. They are just trying to punish me because I don’t want them to take my land,” he said.
According to him, they are still staying outside the community because of the banishment.
The spokesman of the state police command, SP Haruna Mohammed, said the case has been reported to the command and it was being investigated.
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