 |
| The Monarch |
Less than 48 hours after the recovery of
the decomposing body of the Obi of Ubulu-uku, Edward AkaezeOfulue III,
in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, tears and
tension have continued to envelop its residents, including relations of
the monarch.
In what has been described as a taboo,
the monarch few weeks was abducted by suspected kidnappers around Obior
and Igbodo communities with his driver, who was said to have escaped
into the bush on their way Ubulu-Uku suspected Fulani herdsman.
But a few days after, his abductors opened negotiation with his family for a N100m ransom.
It was gathered that while the
negotiation lasted, the abductors refused to pick calls, leaving the
monarch’s family members, Ubulu-Uku residents and the palace chiefs in
fear of the unknown.
It was gathered that while the police
including vigilant groups in Obior, and Igbodo communities intensified
search for the monarch and his abductors, decomposing body of the
monarch was on Thursday night found somewhere in Ekpon community forest,
Edo State.
The remains of the body was reportedly
recovered by a combined team of Ubulu-uku vigilante group and their
counterparts from neigbhouring communities.
Since his abduction, the community
vigilante group led by its chairman, James Adoh, had been in search of
him, and the whereabouts of his driver.
A visit to the community reveals
residents including relations of the monarch were seen in tears, while
restriction of movement was put in place by security agents.
”We are in tears, mourning, a taboo has
occurred in our town. It is unthinkable that our Obi was abducted and
killed in the bush,” a resident, Patrick Odum, who spoke with our
correspondent, said.
It was further gathered that prior to
the monarch’s abduction, one of his aides (names withheld) allegedly
stole his N700,000 and fled.
Secretary–General of the Ubulu-uku
Development Council, Mr. NwanneMemeh, said, “The community vigilante had
mobilised alongside other security agents, especially the military on
Thursday in search of the abducted Obi, when they got to Mbiri, they
were led to one of the forests in the area, but after searching, they
could not find the Obi.
It was some residents in the community, who informed the search party that they suspected there was a decomposing body nearby.
After searching the forest, the search
party later found two decomposing bodies, but the vigilante group
members were only able to identify the Obi’sbody.”
In a press release, the police
spokesperson in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu said, “The divisional
police division in Igbodo received an information on January 5 that the
Obi of Ubulu-Uku was kidnapped alongside a friend.
“Sequel to the report, detectives was
mobilised in search of the Obi and possible arrest of the hoodlums. The
Jeep in which both victims were travelling in was found abandoned in the
bush around Igbodo area.
“Following information from passersby
that they saw suspected hoodlums entering the bush where the Jeep was
recovered, vigilante men and local hunters were mobilised to join hands
with the police in ensuring the rescue of the Obi and apprehension of
the kidnappers. The other victim later escaped from their abductors,
while efforts have been on to rescue the Obi of Ubulu-Uku.
However, on January 20, information was
received by the DPO,Umunede Division, that two unidentified male corpses
in decomposing state were found in a bush within Umunede at the
boundary between Delta and Edo states. Consequently, detectives moved to
the scene and photographed the corpses while efforts are on to evacuate
the corpses to hospital for autopsy.
“Meanwhile one of the corpses has been
identified as that of the Obi of Ubulu-Uku by his family members.The
command wishes to commiserate with the people of Ubulu-Uku kingdom over
the unfortunate incident and hereby urged them to remain calm, while
assuring them that efforts are being made to fish out the perpetrators
of this heinous act.”
FOR MORE STORIES VISIT CKN NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS:
Twitter: @CKNNigeria
Facebook: CKNNigeria
CKN NEWS Hotline: 08080054001
Whatsapp: 08099677755
BBM : 2BE329DF
Website: www.cknnigeria.com
Tags
Society