…PG hired thugs, cultists to kill me– Uwaleke alleges
From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The ezeship crisis rocking the Obibi Uratta community in Owerri North came to a head when the annual cultural festival ended in fiasco when people of the community scampered for safety following sporadic gunshots at the Orie Obibi market square venue of the cultural event, which left many injured as they tried to escape from the mayhem.
In a statement at the weekend, signed by the town’s President General, the community blamed Dr Amobi Uwaleke, who is laying claims to the traditional stool of the community as the brain behind the disruption of the “Onwa Oru” cultural festival that usually heralds the new planting season.
The statement read in part: “Trouble started when Uwaleke, the self-imposed Eze of the community disregarded the letter written to him, the President General of the community, Engr. Stanley Ukaga and copied to the State Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, which was duly signed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Adamu Ahmadu in-charge of State Intelligence Department (SID) titled: “Re-Conduct Likely To Cause Breach of Peace”, the police instructed all the parties to avoid the festival on the stated date.
According to the letter, having preliminarily looked into the issue bedevilling the Onwa Oru Uratta festival billed for February 27, 2025 and other issues in Obibi Uratta Autonomous Community, Owerri North LGA, Imo State, the department advised all parties, in the interest of peace and towards averting breach of peace of the public in the community and the state at large, to stay action and maintain peace pending the outcome of the investigation.
Continuing, the community stated: “But Chief Uwaleke defied the order and directives and went ahead to hold his personal Onwa Oru Uratta alongside his supporters on the same February 27, 2025 which alarmed the police and there was sporadic shooting between the Police and the supporters of Uwaleke.. While Uwaleke escaped and had remained on the run, about 10 of his supporters were not so lucky as they were apprehended and had been charged for possession of fire arms and unlawful gathering by the police.”
However, Chief Uwaleke in his reaction accused the community’s President General, Engr Stanley Ukaga of hiring cultists and bringing the police officers from the Owerri North Division stop him from performing his traditional obligations as the custodian of the culture of the people of Obibi Uratta.
He also said that the thugs and cultists allegedly recruited by the President General had attacked his vehicles on his way to the event but that nobody was injured.
Chief Uwaleke said: “It was them that were shooting including the policemen they had hired from the Police Division in Owerri North. They attacked all the vehicles in my convoy and shot all the tyres and arrested over 10 persons. It was the shooting that had made over 20,000 people who came for the festival to leave.”
Continuing, he said: “The cultists and thugs that were brought by Stanley Ukaga and his supporters shot at my jeep but what saved me was because it is a bullet proof. Those who came with me were not armed. Ukaga and his supporters wanted to stop me by force from performing traditional rites as the custodian of customs and tradition of our people. Their real intention was to kill me because they had opened fire on my vehicle immediately they sighted me but my jeep is a bulletproof vehicle and it was what had saved me. I am in my palace and not on the run as they are claiming and the police all know where I live.”