Guardian Nigeria
The family of a 67-year-old visually impaired man, Anibeze Nnadi, and the traditional ruler of Ihekwuenu autonomous community in Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local Council of Enugu State, Igwe Christopher Okwor, are at daggers drawn over allegations of attack and demolition of a house belonging to Nnadi.
The house, allegedly built on a disputed piece of land, was rebuilt after it was first demolished in 2021. Recently, some hoodlums reportedly arrived at Nnadi’s house at midnight, brought him out, and demolished the building.
Nnadi, who spoke to reporters, accused the monarch of being behind the attack to dispossess him of his ancestral land. He added that the building, which comprised two bedrooms, was built for him by the Ezemagu family.
Responding, the monarch denied destroying anybody’s house and accused the Ezemagu family of a ploy to wrest a disputed piece of land from him. He said they frequently stir public sentiment whenever a pending case in court is not in their favour.
He also said the Ezemagu family had, in the past, vowed to dethrone him. He said they had been trying to achieve this since one of them, Chief Emmanuel Ezemagu, lost the Igweship contest.
“The recent media reports about the demolition of the visually impaired man’s house are a rehash of an incident from 2021, aimed at garnering public sympathy. I am saying for the umpteenth time that I did not demolish the man’s house,” he said.
Okwor recounted that when the initial incident occurred in 2021, the then chairman of Igbo-Etiti Local Council, Nkechi Ugwu-Oju, reportedly provided N4 million for the construction of a new building in an uncontested land.
“If they genuinely cared for the visually impaired man, why insist on building on disputed land? This is not philanthropy but a strategy to claim the land. The man originally had a house that was demolished by the Ezemagu family, who then relocated him to the contested land.
“The motive behind all these is that they want to dethrone me as Igwe. They said they would never accept the fact that I defeated their father in the contest for Igweship, and as such, they are doing everything to see that I am removed.
“That is even why this land issue started in the first place, and that is why they are not relenting. But they have failed. They are setting me up by going to demolish the same house they are building for the blind man, so that when they run to the media, people will be blaming me. It is not difficult to see through their scheming. But they cannot defeat the truth,” he added.
When contacted, Chief Nnamdi Ezemagu said the allegations by Okwor were false and a calculated attempt to “divert the attention of the public from the criminal activity of his brothers and their gang.”
