Gunmen have invaded Umuihe autonomous community in Akaeze, Ebonyi State, and tragically killed the traditional ruler, His Royal Highness, Umazi Ibo Ubani over the weekend.
The State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Joshua Ukandu, confirmed that the police were in pursuit of the assailants.
Gunmen unleashed heavy gunfire in the community during the invasion, causing pandemonium as residents sought safety.
The Coordinator of Akaeze Development Centre, Mr. Chinasa Okorie, also confirmed the incident, stating that the attack occurred around 10:00 pm on the previous Friday.
Okorie condemned the killing of the monarch, noting the difficulty in finding a successor with his qualities.
He described the monarch, in his 60s, as bold, fearless, and intelligent, and lamented that his wealth of experience would be greatly missed by the community, the local government, and the state as a whole.
“Around 10pm last Friday, I received a call that there was shooting in the house of our traditional ruler, that after the shooting, it was discovered that our traditional ruler has been killed and that is the traditional ruler of Umuihe Autonomous Community, Akaeze, HRH Eze Umazi Ibo Ubani.
“This is a great loss to the community and Akaeze at large because he is a man of integrity, a man that would be difficult to replace because he is intelligent, bold and fearless.
“The man does not know corruption because, at all times, his integrity is always seen. I am very sad about his killing. It is a great loss to Akaeze Development Centre, where I am the leader, Ivo local government, and Ebonyi State.
“His voice is loud in Ebonyi State, he is a first class traditional ruler. The killing is a very bad incident,” he stated.
Okorie stated that only security agencies can determine the cause of the incident and identify those responsible.
Another stakeholder from the community, Sinbad Ogbuatu, mentioned that the incident happened late at night on the previous Friday.
He added that the community is now tense and apprehensive, with markets and shops unable to open for business due to the situation.
“I have been calling everyone and nobody told me there was crisis or problem in the community to warrant such incident. Maybe when normalcy returns, we will know the cause of everything,” he stated.
Speaking further the police spokespsrson said, “Immediately we got a distress call on the incident, we swung into action and the assailants had already left the scene by the time our men moved to the scene, but we are trailing the assailants.”
