MR. OSANYEDE NEWTHING ESCAPED DEATH.
By Gabriel Mokobia
Following
the gruesome assassination of Chief Amenaghawon Osanyede Uti Chinyem,
the Eleme of Obi-Anyima community, in 2011; no fewer than forty stern
looking mobile policemen and Anti-Terrorist squad were drafted to the
community, which is in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
According
to the Olotu-Uku of Ogbe-Obi in Obi-Anyima clan, Mr. Gibert Omeleze,
the late Eleme of Obi-Anyima was killed by unknown assassins, he
disclosed that the younger brother of the late Chief have not been in
good relationship with him but had been fermenting troubles with his
senior brother, even before he was made the Eleme of the community.
He
further revealed that the deceased went through several court cases
before he was installed the Eleme of the community in 2009, and since
then his younger brother (Name withheld) has never made things easy for
him, because he was also interested in taking over the stool from the
late Chief.
Continuing
he revealed that some aggrieved parties in the community after a failed
reconciliatory meeting by the Obi of Abavo, few years ago, were again
summoned by the monarch to decide who would be the youth leader and
Secretary General of the community, including other issues to be
discussed; saying that on his way back from the meeting, between
Obi-Anyima and the next village, by the railway line; it was gathered
that the late Chief and his secretary were accosted by three unknown
youths who ordered them to get down from the motorcycle they were riding
on, they ordered the Secretary to lie face down, while one of the
youths opened fire on the Eleme of Obi-Anyima; and shot him at close
range several times, leading to his death. The Secretary who was spared
by the unknown gun men, was said to have reported the matter to the
community.
According
to an eye witness who spoke on condition of anonymity, some persons who
knew the Chief very well, hid themselves on the over head bridge, they
were the persons who alerted the hired assassins and also identified the
late Chief. The source also disclosed that while some persons who came
for the meeting were still in the palace of the monarch of Abavo
kingdom, news came to them that the Eleme of Obi-Anyima, had been shot
dead on his way home by some unknown persons. Four of the Chiefs from
the village, including the younger brother of the Eleme, were
immediately arrested by the police in Abavo, as suspects, following
their strained relationship with the late Chief when he was alive. They
were later taken to Asaba the state capital for interrogation and
investigations on the matter.
In
a related development, a family source who spoke to newsmen on
condition of anonymity stated that the eldest son of the late Eleme of
Obi-Anyima, by name Mr. Osanyede Newthing, had a narrow escaped from
death, after being attacked with cutlasses and harmer, by three strange
men at his family compound, few years after his late father was
assassinated.
