Residents of Anambra community protest, seek dethronement of monarch

Residents of Anambra community protest, seek dethronement of monarch

No fewer than 2,000 indigenes of Awba Ofemili community in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Wednesday, stormed Government House, Awka, and staged a demonstration against what they termed as high handedness of their traditional ruler, Igwer Ezekwesili Ernest Maduagwuna.

The demonstrators who arrived Government House with motorcades at about 1 p.m. with placards with some inscriptions as “Soludo’s should dethrone Igwe Maduagwuna. We say no to his burning down of our houses, illegal sales of our lands and other illegalities, were received in audience by the Chief of Staff to Governor Soludo, Ernest Ezeajughi on behalf of the Governor.

The spokesman of the protesters, Dr. Nice Nnamdi Mekoh who tabled their grievances before Ezeajughi, alleged that the monarch has for some time now engaged in burning down oppositions’ houses with reckless abandon, using the community’s vigilante operatives.

Mekoh further told Ezeajughi that the monarch forcefully confiscated over 2000 bags of rice znd a good number of live goats belonging to the opposition, grabbed and sold their lands, as well as forcefully planted his stooge as new President-General of Awba-Ofemili Development Union, ADU after a recent inconclusive town union election.

Mekoh who demanded that government should withdraw the Chieftaincy certificate of Igwe Maduagwuna, conduct a free and town union election in the area and disband the Polycarp Ndukife-led vigilante operatives in the area, lamented that over 15 houses were set ablaze, 2000 bags of rice, scores of goats forcefully confiscated from their owners and reportedly sold to traders in Onitsha

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His words, “We demand dethronement of the monarch, Igwe Ezekwesiri Ernest Maduagwuna, and conduct of a fresh President General, PG, election, the incumbent PG is imposed on us which also increased the killings, raping, land grabbing, setting houses ablaze, confiscation of over 2000 bags of rice from poor farmers by the monarch and his cohorts”.

“In our community if you challenge the monarch you will be attacked and your house set ablaze, they rape wives and daughters of our people and you don’t complain if you want to be alive,” he further lamented.

Mekoh commended the governor for rehabilitating the Amansea/Ebenebe/Ugbenu/Ugbene/Awba Ofemili road which assists them to evacuate farm produce to the cities.

Responding Governor Soludo’s representative and his Chief of Staff, Ezeajughi, commended the demonstrators for their peaceful conduct of the exercise and pledged to look into the allegations critically with a view to bringing lasting peace to the community.

He also commended the people for supporting the governor in the infrastructural development of the state assuring that soonest investigation would commence in earnest.

In a swift reaction, the embattled monarch, Igwe Maduagwuna who spoke to newsmen on phone, described the protesters as trouble shooters who accused him of setting their houses ablaze.

According to the monarch, “I, Igwe can’t set somebody’s house ablaze, they are bunch of liars, the protest they carried out is baseless, null and void and of no effect.”

Residents of Anambra community protest, seek dethronement of monarch