Gunmen have attacked the Orsumoghu house of the deputy speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr. Paschal Agbodike, that of the President General of the community, Nze Denis Muomaife, the house of the traditional prime minister, and that of the traditional ruler of Orsumoghu town, setting them on fire.
Dr. Agbodike represents Ihiala 11 constituency and is the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, for the House of Representatives in the 2023 election.
The information was disclosed on Wednesday at a meeting of stakeholders in Anambra South Senatorial Zone with the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to Vanguard, before the incident, the gunmen had accused the community leaders of bringing in soldiers who ratted them out of their hideouts in forests around the community.
Orsumoghu community in the Ihiala Local Government area of Anambra State has been an epicenter of the violent activities of gunmen who have among others caused motorists to abandon the popular Awka Etiti- Ukpor- Orsumoghu- Isekke road that links to Imo state and other states in the South-South region in the past one year.
Following the persistent attacks in the area, INEC at the meeting sought collaboration with the stakeholders to ensure that elections are held peacefully in the zone.
Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, for Anambra State, Elizabeth Agwu during the meeting urged the youths to resist any activities aimed at disrupting the elections in the area.
She said: “We must hold the 2023 election and it must be credible and the votes must count.
“This is the time for the youths to rise in different communities to protect their people.
“We have prepared for the election with materials and men. What we need from communities is to collect their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs. We have also distributed nonsensible materials for the election.
“Anything done that will make the election not be successful in Anambra South should be resisted. Anyone caught doing abnormal things during the election will not be alive to tell the story.
“I’m relying on the Presidents-General in all the communities and traditional rulers to secure their areas during the election. Let us avoid suppressing ourselves.”
Already, the leadership of the community has set up a peace and reconciliation committee to reconcile any aggrieved parties and appeal to the conscience of the youths to keep the peace.
Society and Culture. Politics and Opinion.
Honourable Agbodike representing Ihiala 2 is from Mbosi in Ihiala L.G.A and not from Orsumuogho