Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has directed the commissioner of police in Delta State, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack and reported attempt on the life of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, Obi Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo II, by thugs suspected to be cultists.
Some hoodlums had on September 18, 2021, attacked the convoy of Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, who is the brother of Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, when he visited Otulu Ogwashi-Uku, a farm settlement area in his kingdom, to meet the residents and offer prayers for the growth and development of the community.
The monarch was accompanied on the visit by senior members of the Obi-in-Council, members of the press corps, officers from the office of the Area Commander Ogwashi-Uku, soldiers from the Asaba Brigade Command, Ogwashi-Uku, vigilantes and some members of the Ogwashi-Uku community.
It was stated that on their way back, some thugs barricaded the road with logs and tyres to refuse the monarch passage.
The ensuing fracas led to the killing of one Cletus Opara, while about five cars were burnt.
The hoodlums also attacked the military officers, members of the Obi’s entourage and an alleged attempt on the monarch’s life.
Confirming the development in a statement on Sunday, the monarch’s palace secretary, Ifeakanachukwu Emordi, thanked the IGP for ordering full-scale investigation into the incident.
Emordi noted that the directive was laudable because the attackers of the monarch are well known to the Delta police command and the police headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the assailants were the same people who attempted to kill a newly-installed Chief Onyema Igbokei in 2020, to enable them sell community land illegally in the Edo Ogwashi-Uku and Otulu Ogwashi-Uku areas.
“These same people were charged with attempted murder based on an investigation conducted by the Inspector General’s Monitoring Unit last year. The deceased, Mr Opara was one of the people investigated in last year’s attempted murder case and was facing charges in Ogwashi-Uku as a result of the investigation,” he stated.
Emordi noted that the police command had declared some of the cultists wanted, alleging that the suspects are responsible for the death of an assistant superintendent of police who was killed around Otulu in 2018.
He urged the police to do a thorough investigation, identify all the people behind the attempt to assassinate the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and their sponsors.
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