HRH Mazi Amos Ngwu Okoro, the Traditional Ruler, Ibom Etiti and Ibom Isii of Aro Okeigbo Kingdom, speaking at a news briefing in Umuahia on Wednesday.
Concerned natives of the Aro-Okeigbo Kingdom (Ibom Etiti) in Abia have raised an alarm over the growing menace of illicit drug business and violent cult activities in the community.
The people, led by the Traditional Ruler of Ibom Etiti and Ibom Isii, Eze Amos Okoro, said that the community had suffered unprecedented violent cult activities, citing the gruesome murder of two indigenes, in recent times.
Okoro, who ascended the throne in January, spoke on the critical state of insecurity in his domain at a news briefing organised in Umuahia on Wednesday by the Mirror Media, in conjunction with Umu Ibom Etiti at home and in diaspora.
He said that drug dealers and cultists had taken over the community, causing panic and mayhem among the locals.
“Cultists have made insecurity situation in Ibom unimaginable,” he said.
He said that the murder of 63-year-old Kingsley Okereke and 18-year-old Chinedu Ezuma by suspected cult groups on Aug. 11, 2023 and April 3, respectively, had caused serious fear in the community, with many fleeing for their lives.
“Many residents have fled the community, while those resident outside cannot come home for fear of being attacked.
“Those of us who are remaining cannot sleep with our two eyes closed because of insecurity,” Okoro said.
He also said that the perpetrators of violence in the area were doing so “on the pretext of a non-existent leadership tussle”.
“State Government and security agencies should crackdown on drug dealers and cultists.
“We want a drug-free and crime-free Ibom,” Okoro said.
He said that they were ready to cooperate with the government to identify those causing security breaches and killings in the community.
He attributed the security situation in the area to the abuse of drugs by cult members terrorising the people.
He said that the government knew what to do to rid the community of illicit drugs and the attendant violence.
According to Okoro, his predecessor, Eze Kanu Nwa Kanu, ought to be banished from Ibom after he was dethroned.
“Government knows what it can do to restore peace and security in Ibom.
“It is not for me to decide for the government what to do,” he said.
A rights activist, Mr Onyebuchi Ndukwe, said that his investigation showed that Ezuma was allegedly murdered by cultists for refusing their entreaties to join their group.
Ndukwe said that two persons were initially detained at the Arochukwu Divisional Police Station in connection with the murder.
Also narrating how Okereke died, his younger brother, Eme, said that his brother died from injuries he sustained from the physical assault from his attackers.
He said that the deceased reported the violent attack on him to the police but that no arrest was made.
The people, including the traditional ruler, parents of the boy, Mr Ukwu Ezuma and his wife, Mgodichinma, and Eme, called for justice for the deceased persons. (End)
