Mr Peter Onyeze is a Nigerian citizen who has witnessed the hell his people are going through in the Agwa community and went to a Public Hearing to tell his story, praying and hoping that the Nigerian Government would come to the aid of his people and community.
Onyeze, in a chilling narration, tells about the wanton killings going on in his community led by an armed group. The lawlessness in the community has forced many to flee their homes, leaving the community in a shadow synonymous with a wasteland.
Read his recount of his ordeal…
He narrated: “In 2014, a group of boys started disturbing the peace of the Agwa community to the extent that on market days.
They would come out and harass traders, especially those from outside the community, and even steal from them.
They were snatching valuables at gunpoint and even raping ladies at will.
The worst of it all was on January 1, 2014, a lady was raped to death at Town School, Obudi near the market square.
She was coming from a crossover service when the incident happened. There are other criminal vices happening too.
Community leaders took it upon themselves to involve security agencies, particularly the police, who came and made some arrests. Upon the arrest, some were released.
There was no prosecution. The crime continued unabated. This led to the creation of a rival group in the community, and this was followed by a gun duel between the two criminal groups, resulting in the killing of three or four persons.
Their bodies were found inside the toilet at the Obudi Central School. Before then, two people were killed by the first group. What villagers call the groups were the Ogbafor and Middle Belt groups.
They were also called Dee Gbam and Dee Well. But the villagers called the first group Ogbafor because they operated within the Afor marketplace place while the rival group was called Middle Belt because they operated from the centre of the community.
The Eze of the community had to involve security agencies. Some people were arrested and prosecuted.
Some were jailed with others on trial. In April 2021 during the Owerri jailbreak, many of them returned.
When some of them discovered that the community was no longer safe for them, some of them ran to nearby Izombe town and were operating from there. They joined ESN because the people believed that there was an ESN camp at Izombe.
They started killing perceived enemies, especially those they thought were responsible for their earlier imprisonment.
They also have informants who give them information on perceived enemies. So many people were killed. Notable among them was one Emenike, whom they accused of being a police informant in May 2022. Police made some arrests.
But they were later released on bail while one of them, who was shot, died in detention. But most of them were later released.
After Emenike’s death, the same set of people mounted checkpoints to collect tolls from oil bunkerers. Police also have their checkpoints where they equally collect tolls from oil bunkerers too. But one day, they killed three policemen and one Civil Defence Corps officer.
This incident happened around May/June 2022. These killers lived in Izombe and acted under the guise of IPOB. They call themselves freedom fighters.
To prove that they are IPOB members, they always send out their pictures where they were killed in Biafran regalia while holding their AK47 rifles.
They parade the villages with those rifles. After the killing of policemen, a lot of criminal and heinous things continued to happen in Agwa.
It became obvious that people were no longer safe. The villagers noticed that their informants stayed at Ogbaku and gave information about anyone coming home.
Ogbaku is the entry point to the community from the Owerri Onitsha Expressway. If they consider you an enemy, you would be killed that day. A lot of people were also killed at Ogbaku.
The APC secretary of Obudi Ward was killed at Ogbaku. While they were doing this, the Eze Ignaus. O. Asor was also an enemy to regain control of the kingdom.
While he was going to Owerri seeking assistance, on the 5th of August 2022, the same set of criminals invaded Agwa Divisional Police headquarters, killing five officers, among them were two lady officers and setting their corpses ablaze.
Upon the news, the CP visited the scene, and in his presence, the Governor called and asked Eze to put the incidents in writing, which Eze did and submitted to the government house. During this August, killings continued.
The worst of it all was on 14 November 2022, around 9 am, the Eze was welcoming his two visitors while gunmen surrounded his palace without his knowledge.
As he came downstairs, the hoodlums rushed him and started shoving him. He was killed, and two of his visitors were also killed. 25 bullets were extracted from his body.
Since then, the community has never known peace. The criminals have returned home and are now ruling over the community.
They adjudicate on issues whether invited or not. Since the monarch’s death last November, over 100 people have been killed. Many have fled their homes.
It is only those who have no place or means of leaving that are there. Yet, they could be accused of anything just to be killed, and when some of their loved ones are killed, they just bury their dead without coffins.
Last week, they killed an old man over an allegation that he brought a deity to the village to kill his kinsman.
The man was quickly buried by his family without a coffin. Since every reasonable person has fled the community, the criminals now go to people’s houses to loot property and other valuables.
They have since looted everything in the late Eze’s palace. So, since all these have been happening, schools, churches, and markets have stopped existing because the guys have taken over the community.
To make sure that nobody does anything to counter them, if they hear that you invited the police or the army against them, they go after your family and set your house ablaze.
For instance, last month, they killed a lady, Salome Alakam aka Ugbala, 45, because they overheard that her brother sent money to the police to look for them.
But her brother did not have any hand in calling the police. They kidnapped him and killed her. They went back to the family and told them where she was buried at Izombe. This group is led by Uzondu Nneji. He is the one who killed the Eze.
After killing the Eze, he went to the market to announce that they should go to the palace to pick up the Eze’s corpse and that he would return to take charge of the community.
True to his words, he is now presiding over the affairs of the community. There is also another one known as Emeka Uhuru, aka Parking Store, as well as another one called Shinkafi.
Before this whole thing started happening, Agwa was a booming farming community where the rest of the people of Imo State came for farm products. But, as it stands now, the farming activities have all stopped, and hunger has set in. Next year will be worse because it is what is planted this year that should be eaten next year.
But that won’t be possible anymore. The Agwa market is the biggest in the entire Oguta Local Government Area. The youths in the community who cannot leave have joined the group because it is now a thriving business.
This is because, since people have fled, they have now resorted to calling them on the phone and demanding money, or else their house will be burned. So people usually contribute between N100,000 and N200,000 to safeguard their property in the village.
Sometimes, you don’t need to be called to know that you should send them money to safeguard your property in the village. So, they’re making so much money from the business. Also, those very close to the late Eze are either killed or have their house burnt.
The lawyer to the late Eze was attacked, and his house was burned. On several occasions, the police have gone there but were helpless because these are home boys who know their way around the routes.
The police only succeeded in burning down Nneji’s house after the killing of Eze. Sometimes, too, the hoodlums would engage the police in a gun duel, and at the end, they would escape through the forests.
Last month, on June 11, a certain woman was accused of carrying juju. They stripped her naked and gave her the beating of her life.
Her husband ran away, and they threw her into a burrow pit, thinking she would die there. But the woman survived it and came out. But they tortured her to death with the backs of cutlasses.
In the past seven days, three other persons have been killed in the same manner. When people are accused of carrying juju, it means they have the intention of killing somebody through diabolical means.
Most times when people die, their deaths are attributed to the deities to whom they were reported. On July 24, police invaded the place, but when the police left, the guys descended on the village and dealt with people they accused of inviting the police.
On Wednesday, July 26, over eleven houses were burnt down. That same day, one of my mates was killed. He was killed for asking a bike man to avoid the road where the hoodlums were operating.
Apart from the fact that Agwa is inside the hinterland, it is the shortest distance for those coming from Omoku in Rivers State and going to Onitsha.
So, those passing through the community are killed at Agwa and their vehicles taken away from them, while some of them are buried in shallow graves. These are strangers who have nothing to do with Agwa.
Three months ago, a former state lawmaker was driving in his Hilux with his wife and police escort. They killed him, killed his wife and police escort, and took the Hilux away.
If you see the types of cars these boys drive, you will understand the number of people they might have killed to gain possession of the vehicles. What is happening in Agwa has never been reported in the media.
It should be noted that Agwa is a heavy oil-producing community. But this whole thing does not affect the oil exploration in Agwa.
We need peace. Army posts should be mounted in Agwa. Arrest should be made to bring these people to book.
These people don’t want to leave the community, and if soldiers can station there, the guys would run away. This is the same situation in Izombe.”
#END
Note: This story is culled from A Report by Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) in partnership with Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS), Unveiling the Roots of Insecurity, Healing the Wounds of Human Rights Violations in South East Nigeria: A Path Towards Peace, Open Democratic Space, and a Prosperous Future.
If you are an investigative journalist who needs reports to support your stories about insecurity in the southeast, this Report is recommended.
