By CHARLES IWUOHA

Suspected gunmen at the weekend invaded Umuihe autonomous community, Akaeze in Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State killing the traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness, Umazi Ibo Ubani.

According to information reaching News Express, there was heavy shootings in the community by the gunmen during the invasion which caused pandemonium in the area as the people scampered for safety.

The Coordinator of Akaeze Development Centre, Mr. Chinasa Okorie, confirmed the incident to News Express.

Okorie noted that the attack on the community occurred at about 10pm on Friday, May 3, 2024.

He condemned the killing of the monarch, stressing that it will be very difficult to get a traditional ruler of his nature.

Okorie described the monarch, who was in his 60s, as bold, fearless, intelligent and whose wealth of experience would be greatly missed by the community, the local government and the state.

His words: “Around 10pm last Friday, I received a call that there was shooting in the house of our traditional ruler, that after the shooting, it was discovered that our traditional ruler has been killed and that is the traditional ruler of Umuihe Autonomous Community, Akaeze, HRH Eze Umazi Ibo Ubani.

“This is a great loss to the community and Akaeze at large because he is a man of integrity, a man that would be difficult to replace because the man is intelligent, he is bold and he is fearless.

“The man does not know corruption because at all times, his integrity is always seen. I am very sad about his killing. It is a great loss to Akaeze Development Centre where I am the leader, Ivo local government and Ebonyi State.

“His voice is loud in Ebonyi State, he is a first class traditional ruler. The killing is a very bad incident.”

Okorie said only security agencies can know the cause of the incident and those behind it.

Another stakeholder from the community, Sinbad Ogbuatu, noted that the incident has caused tension and apprehension in the community, adding that markets and shops around the community couldn’t open for businesses.

“I have been calling everyone and nobody told me there was crisis or problem in the community to warrant such incident. Maybe when normalcy returns, we will know the cause of everything,” he stated.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Joshua Ukandu, who confirmed the incident, said policemen were after the assailants.

“Immediately we got a distress call on the incident, we swung into action and the assailants have already left the scene by the time our men moved to the scene but we are trailing the assailants,” he told News Express.

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