Anambra state, the official light of the nation is experiencing what may be termed as unusual calamity, self destructive internally conceited war which no one is willing to talk about or confront.
In Nigeria, whenever you hear of b.an.dits, ter.ror.ists or group of ras.cals hoisting flags, and taking over villages, collecting tax from farmers, one’s mind goes to Borno state, Zamfara, or some other volatile states in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Unfortunately, something close or even far worse is happening in some parts of Anambra State which no one is willing to talk about until this morning.
Although, insecurity and ki.dnapping business (that’s what it should be called) is a generic accepted c.rime in Nigeria which is no longer peculiar to the North but a national lucrative business.
However, some states pride in allowing this ugly menace foster, and almost unabated whilst some are genuinely fighting it.
In Anambra state,this has little or nothing to do with IPOB agitation for the release of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu but a full blown state capture of few towns in the state by non-state actors.
Jkcynonews took an exclusive interest in discovering what’s actually happening in the state.
- This is what we found out :
Some towns, namely : Ukpor, Orsumoghu, Lilu, Azia, and some other parts of Ihiala in Ihiala local government area had been captured by these ba.ndits.
We discovered that Ukpor town found a Way to liberate themselves from this menace, and reclaimed their town, and maybe, few others did too.
However, their closest neighbor, Orsumoghu and Lilu town are currently the epicenter of this evil.
We discovered that the traditional ruler of Lilu had long ran out of his town, nothing goes on in that town for close to a decade.
Maybe, he organizes Council of elder’s meeting virtually ( online) as no reasonable person still resides in that community.
Now, here is the most bizarre part of all these unfortunate scenarios.
- No Burial ceremonies
It may interest you to know that no burial ceremonies have taken place in the town of Orsumoghu and Lilu for the past 7 years.
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Jkcynonews interviewed a man who lost a sister married to an Orsumoghu man.
He narrated :
“i lost my sister who was married to Orsumoghu. Our inlaws told us that our sister wouldn’t be easily buried without embarking on some strange things.
- We would have to pay the sum of N200,000 to the ba.ndits to first agree for the corpse to be buried in Orsumoghu land.
- The ba.ndits who go by the name “Ụmụ oma” would solely determine when and how the corpse would be brought in for dumping into a hole (quasi-burial).
- We would bring the corpse in ambulance to the border of Orsumoghu and hand over the casket to the ba.ndits and painfully bid a wave as they carry the corpse in wheel barrow or something else to where they would bury it.
- Non of the family members would be allowed to witness the burial in our case. Some people may be lucky to have atleast one person to witness the burial
- We would choose any part of the neighboring towns to carry on with the funeral ceremonies.
This is so crazy..
How can we begin to describe this madness?
How can we begin to explain that two towns who share border with Imo state have been completely ceded to non state actors who roam freely as the real owners flee.
How do one explain the fact that some persons have turned burial of other people’s loved ones into a nightmare, a complete horror movie which is a spite on the part of the state government.
Bombs are reportedly buried Indiscriminately across the length and width of Orsumoghu and Lilu town…
So many houses, compounds have been overtaken by bushes….
What is the state government doing about this ugly menace?
As the gubernatorial election is coming up by November, 2025, would there also be campaigns at the already taken zones?
What happened to that “illusionary statement” of government’s primary duty is to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians?
We also learnt that those “ụmụ ọma” ba.ndits and Soldiers often fight with severe casualties from both sides.
This isn’t Israel vs Iran,
This is Orsumoghu, Lilu Vs real indigenes.
It’s such a painful scenario that in ANAMBRA State, Orsumoghu and Lilu towns have unconditionally been ceded to evil so to say..
What is Governor Chukwu Charles Soludo doing about this?
Are those war torn communities no longer part of the governed space?
Someone must say something about this, because it has to stop.
Caveat : This story has nothing to do with the random terror, kid.napping attacks happening across the state and the government’s efforts to contain them….in my opinion, the state government has done well in trying to fight the insecurity in the state.
However, the case of Orsumoghu and Lilu have proven to be a different case which must receive a beam of light to dispel the evil ongoing there….
– Ibezim Echezona writes from his village