You’re fuelling insecurity, Anambra community accuses Kanu’s lawyer
Leaders of Oraifite community in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State have accused the counsel to the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, of encouraging insecurity in their community.
At a press conference by past and present leadership of the community, including the traditional ruler, the community alleged that Ejiofor has been recruiting youths of the community and using them to perpetuate violence.
Oraifite traditional ruler, Dr Daniel Udorji and the President-General, Sir Vin Dike, made these allegations during the press conference they jointly addressed in the presence of some other members of the community, at the Oraifite Civic Centre.
The accusation came on the heels of the alleged kidnapping and killing of a 38-year-old youth leader in the community and a rift between the IPOB lawyer and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, Sir Emeka Ofor. Both Ofor and Ejiofor are members of Oraifite community.
They also informed members of the public that the ongoing rift between Offor and Ejiofor has assumed a dimension which necessitated the intervention of the community “with a view to setting the records straight.”
The President General of the community, Mr Dike, who addressed journalists on behalf of the leadership of the community, said, “You may have read in the media spaces recently about Ifeanyi Ejiofor claiming that our son, Sir Emeka Offor, plans to assassinate him.
“Those are all lies. We want to tell you that Ejiofor is the biggest problem we have in Oraifite. He is the cause of insecurity in our community, and he uses IPOB to terrorise us. Of course, you know that his best-known address is that he is the counsel to Nnamdi Kanu.
“We called you here today to tell you that Oraifite as a community has decided to suspend until further notice two significant cultural festivals, Otu-Eke and Otu-Ube.
“This is because Otu-Eke and Otu-Ube festivals have contributed to insecurity in the community and today the council has decided to suspend it indefinitely. Oraifite is a very peaceful community, but recently, youths have taken advantage of the two masquerade festivals to always unleash violence.
“Otu-Eke festival is a traditional event set up by our forefathers to unite the people, to discuss important and vital issues of the town. It has multiple arms, there is an arm that is used for enforcement called ‘Otuebe,’ however, it has been hijacked by all manners of youths to foment violence in the community, hence the reason we are banning it.”
Dike, however, called on the state government, the Police and other security agencies to intervene in the matter.
The traditional ruler, Igwe Udoji, on his part, appealed to the people of the community to rise up and defend the community against its enemies.
Udoji said, “I am the Igwe of the town, I am the father of the town, every Oraifite person, male or female, citizens of Oraifite are my children, I take delight in supporting mostly, those who have positive values.
“Oraifite is blessed with a son like Emeka Offor, he has done so much for us, Nigeria and in fact the whole world. Some people have been maligning him using the social media and we say no to this.
“It’s regrettable that we don’t come out to defend him on the social media, when he’s under attack; it shouldn’t be only when we need him that we should go to him.
“We should come out and defend him, humanly speaking; we can’t reward Mr Emeka Offor for all he has done for us.”
But, in a swift reaction when contacted through the telephone, Ejiofor denied all the allegations leveled against him, saying those accusing him of any wrongdoing do not represent the voice of Oraifite community, but are simply “Emeka Offor’s puppets, who he handpicks for his selfish interests and personal bidding.”
He urged members of the public, particularly the Oraifite community to disregard the allegations leveled against him, saying they are “unfounded and mischievous.”
He noted that the genesis of his travails was the criminal invasion of his ancestral home at the alleged instance of Chief Offor on June 6, 2021 by some security agents, which led to the death of his personal assistant, late Mr Samuel Okoro, who was dumped inside his car booth, which was later set ablaze after dumping his body in Neni community, in Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State.
He said, “I am just a legal representative to Otu-Eke registered group in Oraifite, just like other groups I represent, my house was burnt in Oraifite, among other personal losses, because of this. There is no criminal record anywhere associated with my name both in Oraifite community and elsewhere.
“As a lawyer of many years standing, it is not possible for me to support or encourage criminal acts as they are claiming. The only crime I committed was asking the PG and the community about a young man called Ebuka Wigwe, who Anambra Vigilante Group abducted from the community and kept without informing the family of his whereabouts and the reason he was abducted.
“When I was called and informed about the young man’s abduction, I petitioned the Inspector General of Police and subsequently he was released by the court. I am not against the arrest of any person that committed crime, but his whereabouts must be communicated to his family. The reason for his arrest must be made known. Why must they keep his abduction secret?
“I was in the village in Oraifite for 18 days during the Christmas period and in between this period, I got credible intelligence report that another assassination plot against me had been concluded using the Motherland armed group, a non-state actor’s group. I participated in activities in Oraifite and we have our own recognised town union association, not the one populated by Offor’s lackeys.”
