By John Ugo , Awka
Youths numberingorebtjan two hundred and drawn from Nteje Community in Oyi local government area of Anambra’ State on Saturday staged a peaceful protest to deny allegations that they are members of Eastern Security Network, the militant arm of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
They also appealed to Governor Charles Soludo and the Inspector General of Police IGP Usman Baba Alkali to beam their searchlight on the community in order to unravel those behind the communal clashes and land grabbing activities which threatened the peace in the area.
The youths with placards of various inscriptoons had converged at the Divisional headquarters of Nigerian Police Force, Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area, from where they marched through the Onitsha/Enugu expressway to Awkuzu junction before ending at Amaokpo, Orukabi village square, Ifite Nteje.
Mr Chinedu Okechukwu who is the leader of Nteje Community Youths said, they held the march to dissociate themselves from the frivollous allegations that Nteje youths are members of ESN.
“A faction in our community labelled us members of ESN in the petition they sent to the security agencies.
“Acting on this frivolous petition, DSS operatives and some army personnel came to our place on June 16, 2022 and in the course of the operation shot some people and rough handled our president general.
“As at today, two of the persons Oluebube Anukwu and Chinazaekpere Areh who got gun shots injuries have died with other still very critical in the hospitals”, he said.
Okechukwu who maintained that land grabbing was at the centre of the dispute rocking the community, appealed to Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra to urgently intervene in the matter.
“Many of us no longer sleep at home because some people engage security operatives illegally to harass and intimidate others in other to bring buyers to sell lands belonging to others.
“We even gathered that some of the land grabbers a brought bulldozer now and are clearing lands belonging to others because the atmosphere is tense since after the June 16 incident”, he said.
