Twenty-year-old Emeka Mbeke is in a critical condition at the intensive care unit of Parklane Hospital, Enugu where doctors are battling to save his life. He was inflicted with several machete cuts by some assailants because of conflict over land.
Emeka Mbeke had visited his cousin in Ibagwa Nike Community, a suburb of Enugu. There, a gang of seven persons accosted him and started inflicting machete cuts on him.
The assailants left him in his pool of blood as they thought he was dead. After the assailants had left, some relations raised alarm and Emeka was rushed to the hospital.
Emeka was able to identify those who attacked him. He said all are members of an opposing group in the community that are laying claim to some community lands. They are also contending the control and sale of some of the community’s land. Sales of land have become lucrative business in the community since extention of urbanisation to the community.
As a result of this, the Ibagwa Nike Community split into two factions. One of the factions is alleged to be led by the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Emma Ugwu while the other consists of members of a clan within the community known as Umu Ameke Ode who want to assert their rights.
The latter group became known as Transparency Forum (TF) and transformed into freedom fighters. Emeka is said to be its secretary.
The Transparency Forum has been advocate of accountability, even as it allegedly dragged the Igwe to court. It obtained an injunction against the traditional ruler over the power of attorney which he allegedly exercised.
A day after the court injunction, the chairman of the Transparency Forum, Valentine Eke was attacked by members of the opposing camp.
Emeka, on his hospital bed, managed to speak to Newsextra. He alleged that those who attacked him were sent by one of his townsmen (names withheld) with whom he had a land deal. He further said that he bought a piece of land from the townsman when the community was still united.
But as crisis crept in and indigenes found themselves in different camps, he and the man he bought land from found themselves in opposing groups.
The said townsman, according to him, made entreaties to him to either decamp to his or forfeit the piece of land he bought from him. Emeka said he refused to honour his request and that pitched him against his former business associate who seized the land from him without refund of his money.
Emeka’s cousin corroborated Emeka’s claim. He said: “We know those who attacked him. They are henchmen of the man who is desperate to repossess the piece of land he sold to my cousin because of his refusal to dump the Transparency Forum. It won’t happen.”
Enugu State Police Command said it was on top of the crisis. According to the command’s spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, the police have swung into action to determine the real cause of the problem and those behind “the brutal cuts on the young man.”
Amaraizu further said although no arrest has been made, “our men have been drafted to the community for thorough investigation.”
The community’s traditional ruler was said to be away to Abuja when Newsextra visited his palace for comment on the matter.
