… Family Seeks Help
By Michael Nnebife
The story of the family of Uche Ibe, who has a speech and hearing impairment, but a vibrant and hard-working young man of Umuezekwulum Kindred, Ezioka Village in Isuofia, the hometown of Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, is a pathetic one.
The young family, comprising Mr Ibe’s wife, Chinelo; and his five little children, including his aged mother; are all presently traumatized and dreading what fate could eventually befall their father and son.
They are therefore appealing to Governor Soludo, human rights organizations, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, the media, and public spirited individuals, to come to their aid for a safe return of Mr Ibe from the hands of yet to be identified abductors who have held him captive for over 90 days and counting.
The grieving wife of Mr Ibe narrated the ugly story to our reporter, who went to Isuofia last week to get first-hand information about her missing husband, as well as the controversies arising from the Isuofia Community leaders whom the Ibe family seemed to have lost confidence regarding the ordeal of their father.
She said, ‘In the morning of Friday, 5th April, after taking his bath and breakfast, my husband told me that he was leaving for the Umeobues’ family to accompany them to Omeke, a town in Ekwulobia, for a condolence visit.
‘When I came back from hospital in the evening, I was surprised to see the dinner which I kept for him before going to the hospital untouched.
‘I checked inside his room, but he wasn’t there. However, I thought maybe he went for another burial from there because there were lots of burials that day.
‘I was apprehensive about his absence at home by that late hour in the night and I stayed awake till 10 pm to 12mid-night yet he didn’t return. Then, I began to say within myself that it wasn’t another burial that he went, but even if it was, he didn’t stay outside till this time,’ she said.
‘I wondered if it was a case of being drunk. But I said no, because even if he drank, no matter the quantity, he always returns and in time.
‘In the morning of the following day, being Saturday, I went to one of my co-wives from the Umeobues and inquired from her whether my husband was with them at the condolence visit.
‘She said, yes, but he didn’t eat as he had left before food was shared. From this, I got a bit relieved but wasn’t satisfied.
‘I moved outside and I saw some women who also were among the people that went to Ekwulobia for the condolence visit. I also inquired from them whether they saw my husband,’ she said.
Mrs Ibe pointed out that for eleven years she had been with her husband and that staying outside the house till late or not coming back home was not his style, unless he went to outside work, in which case, she said, his clients first got her informed before he left the house with them.
She explained that after her efforts in searching for her husband, she called the husband’s brother, Matthew, who lives in Benin, informing him that they had gone to Omeke, the venue of the condolence visit, Ogbunka, Uga, and Aguluezechukwu, to report the matter to the vigilante groups.
Matthew briefed our reporter on the effort of the Ibe family for a safe return of their brother and what seemed to be the unbecoming behaviour coming from community leaders in Isuofia.
‘I first reported my brother’s case to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Ekwulobia.
‘Before this, my sister and my brother’s wife had reported the case to Ekwulobia, Ogbunka Communities’ vigilante groups and some other places.
‘We’ve gone to places where we received information that someone that looks like him was seen, but we did not see him,’ Matthew said.
A week after, it was alleged that Uche’s case took another dimension with community leaders, particularly the chairman of Ezioka Village Union, Oliver Nwachukwu, allegedly talking from both sides of his mouth.
In an interview, the Vice Chairman of Umuezekwulum Kindred, Peter Aniakor, told our reporter that the Ezioka Village Chairman, Mr Nwachukwu, summoned the village at the village hall and announced that a higher ranking officer directed him (Nwachukwu) to announce that the person that took Uche away from Ekwulobia was a member of Ezioka Village.
‘He also said that this information was neither a prophecy nor soothsaying, but that the person that took Uche away from Ekwulobia was seen while doing so.
‘The chairman warning that the person had been given a grace period from that day, which was Saturday, to Monday, to return their brother (Uche).
‘Then this made everyone interested and participating in the search for our brother to relax.
‘So, on Monday when the given grace period elapsed, the chairman summoned the village again and repeated what he said on Saturday.
‘Thereafter, people began to ask him to name the higher ranking officer or the person whom he said took our brother away so that we can report him to police.
‘However, the chairman denied saying he knew the person. This raised a serious uproar in the village hall as everyone there was confused and did not know what to do again.
‘Then, we, the members of Umuezekwulum Kindred, retired home and decided to call and direct Uche’s elder brother (Matthew) who is living in Benin, to personally take what the Ezioka Village Chairman was coming up with to Igwe Isuofia,’ Mr Aniakor said.
According to him, Matthew took the matter to the Traditional Ruler of Isuofia, Igwe Col Christopher Moghalu, as the executive of Umuezekwulum Kindred directed him.
‘After one week, two weeks, we didn’t hear anything, and we called him (Matthew) to return to the Igwe.
‘One of the Igwe’s cabinet members, Ichie Samuel Nwankwo Ezeugo, who he wanted to accompany him to Igwe’s palace, urged him to worry not, that they were on the matter.
‘We waited till June 1 when the village was summoned again that the Igwe was coming to address the village on the matter.
‘When the Igwe arrived the village hall, he told us that it was himself that directed the Ezioka Village Chairman to present the message that the person who took our brother away was seen as he (the Chairman) said it.
‘One of the reasons he gave for the message was to instill fear on Uche’s abductor, thereby making the abductor to return him.
‘After this, everybody in the hall was very unhappy because the zeal which people applied in searching for him (Uche) had already weakened,’ Aniakor said.
Responding, the Chairman, Ezioka Village Union, Mr Nwachukwu, said the message he passed to his subjects was from the President General of Isuofia Town Union.
Nwachukwu explained that the PG directed him to summon and announce to the Ezioka People that it was a member of Ezioka Village that took Uche away from the venue of the Ekwulobia Condolence Visit and that the person should bring him back.
He stated that after some weeks, the Ezioka People became worried because no sign of anything was seen after the message, and he made their feelings known to the PG, who also extended the same to the Igwe.
The Chairman who spoke to our reporter over the telephone, further said that another meeting was held where the Igwe told the worried Ezioka People that they were to be held responsible for Uche’s abduction, being the people that took him to another town for a condolence visit.
Nwachukwu quoted the Isuofia monarch, confirming that his message was from him (Igwe), and the Ezioka People should stop accusing him (Nwachukwu).
Nwachukwu said the message was part of the efforts he had made for Uche’s safe return.
He added that he had forwarded messages about the incident to the Isuofia and Ezioka Social Media Platforms.
Also, the President General of Isuofia, Engr Fidelis Okafor, spoke with our reporter, stating that the meetings at Ezioka Village Hall were part of his efforts for Uche’s safe return.
Reacting, the Traditional Ruler of Isuofia, Igwe Col Moghalu, expressed sadness over the alleged abduction of Uche, stressing that the incident gave him sleepless nights.
The embittered Isuofia monarch who narrated his own version of the message from the Ezioka Village Chairman to the people of the village, admitted that he was the one who instructed the Chairman to pass the message.
According to the monarch, it was aimed at sensitizing them (Ezioka people) to be up-and- doing in the search for their son.’
The Igwe stated that if all efforts failed, he would summon all the men and women who participated in the said condolence visit to explain how Uche went, emphasizing that they know Uche’s whereabouts.
The monarch, who described Uche as a vibrant and hardworking young man, said he had engaged security operatives in the search mission through individuals in government service, assuring that the Anambra State Government would be interested in the incident when the search escalated.
Efforts to speak with the DPO of the Divisional Police Headquarters, Ekwulobia, were unsuccessful as he was unavailable.
