A violent clash between policemen and operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ebonyi State has left a police officer dead and several others injured.
The incident, which happened last week at a mining pit in Amaeze community, Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area, has thrown the area into tension as survivors continue to recount how they narrowly escaped death.
One of the survivors, Chukwu Ajah, blamed the tragedy on what he described as the “overzealousness and gestapo-style operations” of the police. According to him, the officers failed to follow due process when they stormed the site.
“We closed work around 4:33 p.m. that Wednesday and prepared to leave. Because the area is very dangerous due to Fulani herdsmen’s attacks, we asked the Civil Defence officers guarding the site to escort us. As we were returning, we saw three police vans loaded with more than 30 armed policemen. We tried to give them space to pass, not knowing they had come for us. They blocked our movement,” Ajah said.
He explained that trouble started when the police demanded the company’s director, Pastor Dr. Nathan Aniokwute, who owns Hephzibah and Beulah Concepts Ltd., be handed over. When the Civil Defence officer escorting them asked for a formal invitation, the policemen allegedly seized his rifle, beat him, and during the scuffle, gunfire erupted, leading to the death of a police officer identified as Shedrack.
Ajah further alleged that the policemen stripped their director naked, beat him, and confiscated his car keys. He maintained that the company had duly notified the state Commissioner of Police and the Divisional Police Officer before resuming operations.
Another victim, Onyekachi Nwaeni, who sustained a gunshot injury to his foot, accused rival interests of fuelling the crisis. “I was hit by a stray bullet. Those opposing our company have bribed some stakeholders to resist the rightful licensee,” he claimed.
However, Hon. Kama Nkemkanma, member representing Ohaozara, Onicha, and Ivo Federal Constituency, denied being behind the unrest. “There was a meeting last Saturday where I pleaded with the community to allow the company to operate, but they unanimously rejected it. Not one person supported Pastor Nathan. I even offered to discuss compensation for what he had spent, but he refused,” Kama said.
