Youths of the Isuaniocha community in Awka North Local government area of Anambra State have appealed to the state government to send a fact-finding team to the area with a view to finding a lasting solution to the communal crisis rocking the town.
They also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Alkali Baba Usman, to come to their rescue by calling some alleged unscrupulous police operatives who were being used by a few individuals in the area to cause nightmares to the people.
The leader of the youths in Isuaniocha, Ozor Onyemazi Ngini while speaking with Journalists in Umelum village, narrated that a thirteen-year-old boy was recently arrested in the community and taken to Abuja where he spent three nights behind bars.
According to him, some security personnel swooped into the town at about three o’clock in the morning and arrested the minor who just returned from boarding school alongside his elder brother.
Ozor Onyemazi claimed that a former president General of the Community and his family members were fighting hard to frustrate every effort by the town to get a president General and a traditional ruler who would further pilot the affairs of the fast-developing town.
He called on the government to always consult and hear from stakeholders and people in the grassroots of any community before taking action or decisions rather than base their conclusions on account of only a President-General or one person.
Another Youth in the area, Mr Chukwuma Onyeibor described the present situation in Isuaniocha as worrisome and heartbreaking even as he noted that it has put a clog in the wheel of development in the area.
According to him, many youths who should be productive and contribute to the overall progress of the state in the area had been on the run for fear of police intimidation and harassment.
The minor master Ifechukwu Benjamin narrated that he was whisked away by security men who stormed their home at about three o’clock in the morning and taken to Abuja where he was held for three days even when he was never involved in any event or activities happening in the town.
The former President General of the town, Mr Tony Onyeagolu had earlier in an interview denied the allegations that his family was sponsoring the police intimidations in the area.
Mr Onyeagolu who said he had spent six months in custody called on all those claiming to be harassed by security agents to honour the invitation rather than make comments that were not realistic.
In a telephone interview, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga said he was not aware of such an arrest involving a minor and advised those seeking intervention to make an official entry to the Police Command in Anambra State as the Commissioner of Police, Mr Echeng Echeng was always ready to give them a listening ear.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune