Abia community absolves Homeland Security of blame in siblings’ death

Uzuakoli community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State has disassociated its Homeland Security personnel from the death of two siblings, Chiomachukwu Ugochukwu and his younger brother, Ikechukwu Ugochukwu.

The Secretary General of Uzuakoli Development Association, who is now the President-General-elect of the community, Prince Chigoziem Okechukwu, disclosed this while briefing select newsmen in Umuahia on Monday evening, stating that a social blogger, who is also from Uzuakoli had misrepresented the fact to say that the two brothers were killed by the Uzuakoli Homeland Security.

Okechukwu said, “The incident happened at Uzuakoli, while a particular female blogger misrepresented the fact and we want to tell the world what the true position was.”

He further stated, “The social blogger misrepresented it as the two brothers were killed by the village Homeland Security people. That is not the true position as far as our own finding is concerned.

“What we understood was that it was a cult clash because there was an armed robbery incident in the village by a particular group of boys, where two of them were arrested by the vigilante.

Okechukwu said that members of the gang of those arrested had made efforts to stop the arrest but could not succeed, and subsequently regrouped, while the Home Security people informed the security services in the area and the military came and “they ran away.”

However, he alleged that during a wake keep the next day, the cultists mounted a roadblock and were robbing and dispossessing people of their property when a rival cult group attacked them at about 9 pm and a fight ensued.

He added, “There was a free-for-all fight and the women raised alarm and ran for their safety and alerted Homeland Security, stating that the Homeland Security went there only to discover the two brothers in the pool of their own blood, dead.”

The PG-elect concluded, “What happened at Amankwo Uzuakoli on the 23rd day of May 2024, which regrettably led to the deaths of the two young boys is centred on or is a fall out of an armed robbery incident that took place on the 22nd day of May 2020.

“This publication can cause trouble in Abia State and Uzuakoli in particular. This is why we want the world to know the exact position of the fact.”