A destructive clash erupted at Umuduru, a component of the Nsu Autonomous Community in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State recently when youths from Umuopara were reportedly said to have attacked the Umuduru village at the peak of a fundraising occasion for a community development project.
The event, which was held on December 30, 2024, was aimed at raising funds for Umuduru-Nsu development, as it terminated abruptly due to the attack, leading to the loss of life of one person and multiple injuries sustained by some unidentified persons, while properties worth millions of Naira, such as residential buildings, vehicles, generators, hotels, among others were destroyed.
Eyewitness reports of the incident explained that the fracas caused the death of Mr. Emmanuel Uwandu and left many injured, including one Chief Vitalis Onyeaguma.
It further informed that properties like generators, vehicles, and residential buildings were burnt by the attackers, including a luxury hotel belonging to the President-General of Umuduru-Nsu village, Chief (Barr. ) Daniel Ijebuka Okoro.
The immediate intervention of the Imo State Police Command and the arrest of 10 persons suspected of having carried out the act helped calm the situation and restore law and order in the area.
Unfortunately, however, tension was mounted as further acts of violence, like ambushes and burning of vehicles, followed, leading the majority of the rampaging boys to flee the village.
Irrespective of the challenges occasioned by the attacks, leaders of the two villages, including His Royal Highness Eze Iwunze of Nsu and Chief Jonathan Edoziem, have called for calm to give peace a chance, to avoid further escalation of the clashes.
In a statement made available to newsmen by a reliable source and eyewitness, Uzo Nzeaka, an indigene of Umuduru, narrated how the youths of Umuopara attacked the fundraising event at the Central School field.
Uzo maintained that the attackers were borne out of envy and hatred, adding that the claims were confirmed by Chief (Barr) Daniel Ijebuka Okoro, the President-General of Umuduru-Nsu village that the attackers were so envious of Umuduru for embarking on such noble development.
Okoro claimed that the boys destroyed his Dancynth traveler suites, generator, and vehicle used for the event. The PG reported the incident to the Imo State Commissioner of Police, and they arrested 10 people suspected of having taken part in the attack and murder of Emmanuel Uwandu.
Okoro lamented the penchant of Umuopara youth to attack Umuduru-Nsu as well as engaging in the burning of properties and snatching valuables of Umuduru people who came home for the Christmas holidays.
Despite the police involvement, the tension between the Umuduru and Umuopara villages persisted.
Okoro stated that the violence could have been worse if not for the prompt action taken by the Tiger Base Department of the Imo State Police Command, especially the lawlessness it created during the previous attacks on nearby police stations.
The aftermath of the attack has caused a state of uneasy calm amongst the residents of Umuduru-Nsu regardless of the calls by the leaders of the communities to cease fire to avert further bloodbath.
In a different twist of account of the incident, the President-General of Umuopara, Ferdinand Onukaogu, vehemently refuted the claims made by Okoro about the attack.
According to Onukaogu, the violence started when the youth were informed that the original venue of the fundraising had been changed, even as he also refuted and denied any involvement in the destruction of the hotel, claiming to have been at the occasion with other stakeholders when the fight started.
Further revelation from the PG of Umuopara suggested that the cause of the tension at first was when Umuopara youths misidentified the Traditional Ruler of Nsu, HRH, Eze Iwunze, for taking sides in the squabbles because of his informal appearance into the occasion.
The latest reports have it that the Imo State Police Command is yet to confirm the comprehensive details of the incident, with Henry Okoro, the public relations officer, stating that investigations are ongoing.
