COMMUNAL CLASH: BLOODBATH IN UTE COMMUNITY OVER OIL DISCOVERY
By Mokobia
30th November 2013, was indeed a very sad day for members of Ute
Community and the household of late Mr. Monday Onyekachukwu, whose
entire family members were gruesomely murdered in cold blood, including
other 90 indigenes of the agrarian community that were also hacked to
death; following the communal clash between two neigbouring communities,
they are Ute and Oza communities, with both, fighting over the
ownership of the oil that was discovered in one of the communities some
months ago.
Speaking
to newsmen on what led to the attack and bloodbath, an indigene of Ute
community who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that with the
discovery of oil in the community in one of the lands belonging to late
Mr. Monday Onyekachukwu, who was the youth leader of the Ute-community,
coupled with the declaration of the Delta State government’s intention
on 25th February 2013, to send a professional oil servicing company to
carry out a comprehensive survey of the oil location, in order to
commence exploration; he disclosed that there was reaction from some
prominent members of Oza community that the land where the oil was
discovered belong to them and not the Ute community. With this
development our source stated that when the agitation became unbearable,
authorities of Ika North East Local government area of Delta State, had
to send their officials to the disputed land in order to know the true
owner of the said land.
Continuing,
he stated that after the investigations and survey, by the local
government council authorities, they reaffirmed that the said land
belonged to Ute community; but the decision did not go down well with
members of the Oza community and few days after the verdict of the Ika
North East Local government some youths of Oza community invaded Ute
community, having laid siege in the bush for some days before the
invasion. According to an eye witness, the rampaging youths went
straight to the residence of Mr. Monday Onyekachukwu, the owner of the
land where the oil was discovered; they met him at home in company of
his wife and children. The angry nob who were armed with dangerous
weapons, immediately attacked him and in the process they also killed
his wife Mrs. Onyekachwu and his children, with gun shots and machete;
stating that it was a gory sight to behold.
Our
source also revealed that the eldest son of late Monday Onyekachukwu,
who goes by the name Wisdom Onyekachukwu, was kidnapped by unknown
persons from the community few days before the attack on his father’s
compound.
It
was further gathered that the agitation over the ownership of the land
where the oil was found, had degenerated into a full blown war between
the two communities leading to further bloodletting, with several
members of the community seriously injured and properties worth millions
of naira destroyed.
The
source further stated that the where about of Wisdom Onyekachukwu is
not known, saying that some of the youths from Oza community have
threatened to kill him whenever they set their eyes on him.
The leadership of the Ute community have called on the Delta State
Government and Delta State Commissioner of Police to beef up
surveillance and security patrol in the community in order to forestall
further attack and breach of peace in the community.
