- Hotel’s owner tells own story from hiding
Penultimate Tuesday, the world woke up to the shocking news of a shrine and more than 30 graves discovered in a hotel in Oba, a community in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State. The shocking discovery at Udoka Golden Point Hotel and Suites, popularly known as La Cruise Hotel, was at the instance of the state’s security outfit, Agunechemba.
During the raid that ensued in the incident that drew comparisons with the 1996 Otokoto saga in Owerri, Imo State, security operatives discovered assorted charms and other ritual items within the hotel’s premises. But while some arrests including sex workers were made, the owner of the hotel managed to escape.
Although it is almost two weeks since the bizarre incident occurred, residents of the community are still visibly shocked that they had been hosts to the shocking sight for years.
A resident of the community, Madam Cecelia Obianwu, said it was a shocking piece of news that the individuals involved had lived among them for years, even though the 65-year-old lady admitted she and other residents were aware of the continuous presence of heavy smokers in and around the hotel.
Before its demolition late last month, the security outfit had branded the hotel a hideout for kidnappers, yahoo boys and other criminals. No fewer than 30 alleged graves were discovered in the hotel with different kinds of shrines and different kinds of charms. The security outfit also alleged that some decayed bodies were inside the pits described as graves.
Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, had launched the Agunechemba security outfit to tackle the insecurity that had defiled remedy in the state. Since the launch of the outfit, no fewer than 10 buildings allegedly shielding criminal elements had been destroyed by it in different parts of the state.
Not only that, the land that hosts such a building automatically becomes a property of the state government, according to the new state government’s homeland law
Although the owner of the hotel, Mr A.G. Udoka, fled during the demolition exercise, he later spoke from his hideout, describing the allegations leveled against him by security agents as untrue. He also refuted claims by state authorities that the property located on Onitsha-Owerri Expressway was a hub for kidnapping and criminal activities.
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Udoka, who said he was not aware that the tip-off that resulted in the demolition exercise was from a whistleblower, described the allegation as blackmail, insisting that his facility had nothing to do with criminal activities, insisting that the so-called graves were, in fact, partitioned fish ponds.
He said: “The hotel has never been involved in kidnapping. Those things they are calling graves were partitioned fish ponds.
“I bought the property from the original owner, who constructed it as it is, and the top floor was converted into a fish pond before I acquired it.
“The fish pond was designed to allow easy oversight of the fish and for them to be used at the hotel’s bar for barbecue.
“Since I purchased the property, some interested parties have been upset and wanted to revoke its sale. When that failed, they started manufacturing troubles for me.”
He failed to mention the interested parties
“I’m a legitimate businessman who deals in motor parts, land and property. You can enquire from the traders in the community.
One of the residents in the community, who did not want to disclose his name, told The Nation that the hotel was a dreaded place.
The 61-year-old resident said: “At times, the kind of noise that comes out from that place scares us. At times too, you hear the sound of gunshots.
“The smell of Indian hemp that oozes out of the hotel also terrifies the public. It means that something wrong was happening inside there.
“From time to time, you see strange boys with plaited hairs, wearing earrings and dressed like hip hop stars with assorted sleek cars.
“Any hotel that harbours women of easy virtue otherwise known as ‘sex workers’ has something to do with bad record.
“We thank the governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and Agunechemba team for saving Oba community from criminal elements.”
Also, 56 years old Mrs Elizabeth Okeke, who lives close to Aborji village in Oba, told The Nation that the community had been in turmoil over traditional stool, adding, “that place harbours bad elements.
“People have always suspected the hotel. We live in fear in this community. A lot of things are going wrong here. People are being killed, and there are armed robbers and kidnappers everywhere.
“We don’t know the source of wealth of most of our children. I weep everyday because of what the society has offered us nowadays. We cohabit with strange people.
“Anytime you move close to that area, some of the things you will see and witness will shock you. The way some rough, fierce-looking men and women would look at you is terrible”
But another resident from Okuzu village in Oba, who pleaded to remain anonymous, told The Nation that Soludo’s arrangement in destroying the hotel looked like a set-up
He maintained that the security outfit he launched was mainly for governorship election, to haunt opposition parties.
He said: “Operation udo ga achi and his Agunechemba are not sincere. They are doing hatchet jobs for the state government.
“Since the hotel came to that place, has anybody complained of anything before now?
“It is pure witch-hunt and the federal government should intervene before it becomes something else,” the Okuzu village indigene told The Nation.
Soludo’s Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, denied the hotel owners claims of the graves being ‘fish ponds’, saying “a fish pond cannot be situated inside a hotel.
“Fish ponds and shrines on the hotel’s top floor? Even for health reasons, is such an arrangement logical?
“Where are the fish if it’s a pond? Why did he run away? Why is he hiding? He should come out and explain all these things to the masses since his facility is genuine.
“The Governor has been a proponent of aku rue uno (that’s bringing development home), but not this type. It is better not to have kidnappers lurking everywhere in our state.” Mefor said.
Though insecurity has reached an alarming proportion in Anambra State with no fewer than seven to ten persons being kidnapped every day and many being slaughtered like fowls, the security set-up by Soludo is highly applauded by many
But some observers believe it is more of politics than solving the problems. They are seeing the desperation of retaining his governorship seat than protecting the lives of the masses.
The Anambra State’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, a Superintendent of Police, maintained that the facilities being pulled down had been found to be criminals’ hideouts.
During the raid, some sex workers were arrested, including few alleged kidnappers
Apart from kidnapping for ransom and killing of residents by gunmen, suspected ritual killers are also the rampage in the state
Soludo has warned such hoodlums to leave Anambra if they love their lives, saying, “We are out to restore sanity in the state and ensure adequate security.”
The government has vowed to continue its crackdown on kidnappers and other criminals until they are completely eradicated from the state.
