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“I’m alive,” rape victim debunks protesters’ claim of her death
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Residents of Eha-Amufu, a border town in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State, have refuted claims of recent mass killings and arson in their communities.
This comes as Amarachi Nnaji, a rape victim, dismissed reports of her death, affirming that while she suffered a horrific attack, she is recovering and rebuilding her life.
Reporters on a fact-finding mission to Eha-Amufu engaged with community leaders and residents following viral videos of protests and counter-protests over alleged widespread killings and destruction.
The President-General of Mgbuji Eha-Amufu, Donatus Odoh, acknowledged past attacks by suspected herders, particularly in 2022 before Governor Peter Mbah’s administration, when many residents were killed and displaced. However, he dismissed claims of fresh mass killings.
“So, on the issue of the protest held last week or so, on the basis of the supposed killing of 100 or 200 persons in Eha-Amufu recently, as I saw in one video being circulated, none of that happened. I do not know where people are getting their information from.
“Nothing happened here in Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu two weeks ago. But there was an incident that occurred in another autonomous community in February. One Igwurube Ndubuisi Donatus was killed, but I cannot give details of what happened to him because I was not there. The way you heard it was the same way I got the information,” he said.
Odoh also confirmed that while the rape victim was from another part of Eha-Amufu, he had assisted in arranging her medical treatment through government intervention.
“I saw the woman being driven on a bike, returning from the market the other day. She was healthy,” he emphasised.
Another community leader, Chief Richard Ogenyi, noted that security had improved significantly since 2022 due to interventions by the state and local governments.
“From my own view, they protested against the herders’ invasion of our place and their inability to farm like before because, as you can see, this place you are seeing now is called Orie Ogbete or Orie Uzo Ugbo Mgbuji. It was a lively place before the herders drove us away in 2022.
“So, how I view what happened one or two weeks ago as an independent person is that what the women did was good because it will create awareness.
“But the truth is that there was an element of politics in the protest, and I am not happy about it because they should have focused on the main issue.
“So, I am surprised to hear that many people numbering in the hundreds were killed in Eha-Amufu. After the incident of 2022, we have not witnessed such a number of killings being circulated.
“Since Obiora Obeagu’s second term and Governor Mbah’s administration, we have witnessed a lot of security improvement, and insecurity has dropped drastically. As for the recent protest on ongoing mass killings, none happened in Mgbuji here where I come from, apart from the damaging of crops by the herdsmen,” he stated.
Amarachi Nnaji, from Abor Eha-Amufu, recounted her harrowing ordeal but dismissed claims that a stick was inserted into her private parts or that she had died.
“They put their hands in the zip of my cloth and tore it open, but I kept holding my cloth very tight until the two people dragged me into the middle of the cassava farm and subdued me there,” she recounted.
Isi-Uzo Local Government Chairman, Barr. Obiora Obeagu, acknowledged lingering security concerns but firmly rejected allegations of recent mass killings. He pointed out that since taking office in 2023, Governor Mbah’s administration has implemented several security and infrastructural measures to prevent a repeat of the 2022 attacks.
These include: deployment of over 150 soldiers, Special Forces, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), and gun trucks; ongoing collaboration between the state government and the Nigerian Army to establish a military barracks in Eha-Amufu; and the near completion of a 21.7km Agape-Agu Mgbuji-Ogbete asphalt road to enhance security and access to farmlands.
Obeagu blamed misinformation and political manipulation for the protest.
“So, when people tell you it was a spontaneous protest, it was not. It was orchestrated, very well planned. In one of the clips I watched, a man was in the background like a hype man, trying to hype the situation. I heard him say that last week 200 people were killed, this week 100 people were killed.
“Yet he did not show the burnt houses; nobody was showing any images, while the things they talked about are things that are graphic. People tried to throw up things, but when you see it, you will see those are things that happened two to three years ago. I saw a woman talking about what they did to her husband and herself in the last four years.
“In summary, we have challenges and problems, and we are dealing with them. If it was what happened in Eha-Amufu recently, there’s nothing like mass killings, nothing like burning of houses by herders; it did not happen. Feel free, go into the town and ask questions. Tell them to take you to the place all those things happened. I can bet you nobody will show you one,” he said emphatically.