From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The people of Ekoli in Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State are now sleeping comfortably in their homes, moving freely without any form of harassment, intimidation and molestation.
Above all, no life has been lost in the community unlike before when attack and killings were the norm in the tiny community.
There were killings and destruction of property by suspected political thugs in the area before peace returned to the community seven months ago.
During the 2022 Yuletide, the people of the area celebrated Christmas and New Year in tears. Some of their illustrious sons were killed when two rival political groups clashed in the community. Houses and other valuable property worth millions of naira were burnt in the melee.
Those killed included Eseni Kalu Egwu, a youth leader in the area, Eme Orji, younger brother of the State APC Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha and an Inspector of Police attached to the Special Protection Unit of the state police command. Other lives were also lost in the community after the incident.
The state government took the bull by the horn and set up caretaker committee for the leadership of Ekoli Band of Hope Union that governs the community. The committee has been in office for the past seven months without any form of attack, destructions and killings heard or witnessed in the area.
The tenure of the caretaker committee has elapsed and the people had an emergency meeting recently in their town hall in Ameke village in the area and elected a five-man electoral committee to conduct election for the new leadership of the community to ensure the sustenance of the peace currently pervading the area.
The electoral committee has Professor Udu Ama Ibiam, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Evangel University, as Chairman, and Emeka Nkama as Secretary. Dr. Orji Obasi, a Senior Lecturer in Ebonyi State University, Mrs. Agbogo Amos and Onyemachi are members.
In his acceptance speech, Ibiam said issues of Ekoli causes him sleepless nights. He lamented that the community, which used to be peaceful, was witnessing all manner of evil and assured that he would be part of anything that would return the community to its past glory.
“I shed tears on issues concerning Ekoli. Because of this, I participate in any issue concerning the community because I want peace and tranquillity in our land, I want peace. This is why I accepted to be the Chairman of the electoral committee that will conduct election for the new leadership of the community.
“I have accepted this assignment for Ekoli to be good. If Ekoli is good, it is good for everybody. I remember when we used to sleep outside in the community freely without being killed or molested. We were sleeping freely in our houses. We were closing our houses with wooden doors without being broken by thugs. But now, if you lock your house with iron door, it will be broken.
“So, I am happy that things are changing in our community and I am promising Ekoli that whatever that will bring permanent peace in our community, I will give myself to it. Those who were afraid to attend this well attended emergency meeting today should be told that the era of harassment, intimidation and molestation in our community was over. Nothing like that is happening again in this community. This election we are going to conduct will be free and fair,” he stated.
The people during the emergency meeting commended the caretaker committee for restoring peace in the community and called for its sustenance.
Chief John Emegha, one of the stakeholders of the community recalled how he was barred from entering the community
“We now have relative peace; we no longer have crisis in the community. I am sorry to reveal this, for three good years, I was barred from entering this community. I didn’t come home for three good years. But now, I walk freely in the community. I move freely even in the midnight. I commend the past leadership of our community for this peace we are enjoying today. We have to sustain this peace,” he stated.
Another stakeholder of the community, Michael Ibiam Eze said “I am no longer afraid in the community. I no longer have any fear of attack unlike before. We have to support the caretaker committee of this our community that made this peace possible. We have to support them to do more by electing them the substantive leaders of Ekoli Edda.”
Chief Samuel Kalu Ama Mba who appointed the electoral committee that will conduct the election for the new leadership of the community told Saturday Sun that the community has been through a lot, which forced the residents to take a decision to have the election.
He alleged that he has also been molested by political thugs that were holding the community hostage until he was able to chase them out by constituting two organs in the community; youths and vigilante group which forced the thugs out of the area.
He expressed the hope that the peace would be sustained. He said: “The community has been through a lot. We have suffered. Myself as a member of this community, I have suffered a lot. I can share my own gory stories or experience. So, it got to a point that the community said enough is enough.
“When the caretaker committee was formed, the first thing we did was to set up a youth arm and a vigilante arm. Just on the formation of these two bodies, the bad boys on their own started leaving the community. They felt that their time was up, so they left the community and that’s why we are enjoying peace today.
“It is my wish and my prayers that the peace be sustained. Everybody is on board now; nobody wants to give any space for any laxity or for complacency because what we suffered in the past was too much. It got to a point that some people felt that the community does not belong to them.
“So, they left the community in the hands of a few and they ran it the way they wanted. And they ran the community aground. But now, people are interested, people are asking questions, people are speaking up freely without any fear of molestation and intimidation. So, I believe that the peace will actually be sustained.”