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From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
Peace has returned to Ifite-Nteje village in Oyi council of Anambra State after the youths in the area organised a peaceful march from the Oyi police station to the village square under the supervision of men of the Nigeria Police led by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area.
Most of the participants in the peaceful march were said to be returning to the community after their alleged involvement in a series of crisis that bedeviled the community leading to a total breakdown of law and order and death of many.
Some of the young men were said to have taken refuge in neighboring communities to avoid alleged indiscriminate arrest and detention while the crisis lasted.
In his address at the village square, a youth leader, Mr Chinedu Okechukwu, appealed to the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, to come to their aid, adding that they were branded members of Eastern Security Network and unknown gunmen as a way of scheming them out while their ancestral lands were being sold.
The youth leader appealed to Nteje youths to shun all acts capable of threatening the peace in the community, saying that nothing could be achieved without dialogue.
In his reaction, Comrade Emma Anaugwu, who lost his son during the crisis, called for calm and for the young men to embrace peace, urging the community to be fully involved in the burial of his son.
Also, a member of Ifite-Nteje village assembly, Mr chinenye Ekwenze, whose house was razed; called for unity of purpose among the youths of the village.
Nteje community had experienced a prolonged crisis for many years, following problems that arose from sales of communal land, and chieftaincy tussle during the reign of late Igwe Roland Odegbo, leading to the installation of two different caretaker committees. The State government recognises Chief Bennet Chiweze-led caretaker committee, which has been in office for more than four years.
