The Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the death of a former journalist and politician, Mr. Chike Ejike Onah after an attack by yet to be identified youths.
Mr. Onah, popularly known as Papa Nsukka died yesterday night as a result of matched cuts he received from the youths who attacked him last Sunday night at his country home in Agbani, at the outskirts of Nsuka Urban, Enugu State.
His death is perceived to be the deadliest dimension of a lingering land dispute involving three communities in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka town. Umakashi, Nguru, Isiakpu and other Nsukka communities have for so many years now been embroiled in land tussles, a situation that recently attracted the attention of the Enugu State Government.
A police source told Daily Post that Onah died at a private hospital in the university town hours after he was attacked with cutlasses by the group.
A village source revealed that the group had planned to behead Papa Nsukka, adding that they only left him when they thought he was dead.
The killing of Onah stirred up tension in Nsukka urban as youth’s thronged the Bishop Shanahan Hospital morgue where his body was deposited yesterday night. A village source said before the late politician gave up the ghost, frantic effort was made by the hospital authority through blood transfusion to save his life. “However, later in the evening of yesterday, he died in the hospital to the shock of all of us”, a close family member said.
Further investigations by Daily Post showed that on the night of the incident, a group of villagers had stormed a scene where another group knocked down a house. The occupant named Ndubisi, was said to have escaped death by whiskers when the assailants invaded his house at night as he jumped through the window. Sensing that the late Onah engineered the demolition, the angry youths marched straight to the house of Onah.
According to the source, Onah reportedly came out to meet the villagers at the gate, but on opening the gate, he was allegedly attacked with knife and axe. He continued that his attackers inflicted fatal injuries around his neck in an attempt to behead him, but only abandoned him in a pool of his blood when they thought he was dead.
DailyPost deeper probe revealed that Nguru community from where late Onah hailed were pitched in land dispute against their Umakashi community neighbours. According to Ndubisi, owner of the demolished house, it was the people of Umakashi that attacked him on fateful night. Ndubisis is from Nguru.
When contacted, the Enugu State Police image maker, Ebere Amarizu said the killing has been reported at the police command headquarters in Enugu. According to him, a case of malicious damage to property was previously reported and that the attack on him could be a reprisal. “Our major concern now is to conduct an autopsy but no arrest has been made. Amarizu hinted.
He explained that as soon as the police received report of the incident on the fateful day, the DPO dispatched policemen to the scene and they helped to bring the deceased him to the hospital.
Area commander, Nsukka Police Area Command, ACP, Ros-Amson Umar Halladu, described the killing as unfortunate. He urged the people to always dialogue on issues instead of violence, warning that the police would not tolerate use of violence to resolve dispute among the people.
Late Onah was the labour Party flag bearer in 2007 for the Enugu House of Assembly. He had a stint with an Onitsha based community newspaper before joining politics.
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