As the mystery behind corpses found afloat in Ezu River in Amansea, Anambra State border town to Enugu State remained unraveled more than a week after the horror, water scarcity, epidemic and fear have continued to reign supreme among the residents of the communities around the river and indeed, South East geo-political zone, Ngwuja Ugwoke reports.
For a very long time from now residents of villages around the Ezu River in Amansea and Ugwuoba communities of Anambra and Enugu States respectively will certainly have to contend with acute water scarcity and epidemics as a result of the dead bodies recently dumped in the river which serves as a major source of water for them.
An outbreak of epidemic has already been reported in Amansea area. Several residents of the area were said to have suddenly taken ill and were hospitalized just few days after the discovery of several corpses floating on the river. Mr. Boniface Okonkwo, a former member of the Anambra State Assembly and indigene of the town broke the sad news to journalists who visited the area following the sighting of corpses floating on the river.
The ex-lawmaker who looked thoroughly worried told newsmen that some members of his community who drank water from the river after the dead bodies were sighted in the river were later rushed to the hospital because they suddenly took ill.
Even the Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi had on arrival at the scene where the dead bodies were afloat on the river anticipated that outbreak of epidemic was imminent in the area. Consequently he had during the visit warned people to desist from fetching water from the river for any domestic use, warning that the river had been polluted.
The former lawmaker stated that those who took ill were basically people who didn’t hear about the sad news of the dumping of dead bodies in the river. According to the ex-lawmaker, “I am coming out from a hospital now because some people in my community have suddenly fallen sick after drinking water from Ezu River. They are some old villagers who didn’t hear about these corpses thrown into our river.
I went there to see them and I am still going to another hospital there because they told me that some of them were taken to other hospitals. You know, in this my town people don’t make use of any other water except the one they fetch from Ezu River, that is the only water they take and their body will become cool; they don’t use pure water, and that is why you can’t find (water) borehole in this town. The dead body they dumped into our river has polluted the water. So I am now calling on the Government to come and provide water boreholes for my people because they are now facing the problem of water scarcity”.
Interestingly, in order to ensure that the people do not go to fetch water from the Ezu River, both the Anambra State government and Awka – North local government have been sponsoring water tanker operators to supply water to the residents of the villages around the river.
For about three days from Saturday, January 19, when the dead bodies started floating on the river many residents of the villages around the river fled their homes because the stench of decomposing human flesh enveloped the entire area. Some locals claimed they counted between 35 to 40 corpses afloat the river.
But the Anambra State police command on Monday, January 21 said they have recovered 18 dead bodies. Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, spokesman of the police command disclosed the number of the dead bodies to newsmen. Incidentally, three more corpses were again seen afloat somewhere in the river on Wednesday, January 24, meaning that more of the dead bodies were still in the belly of the river.
Since the discovery of those dead bodies in the river there has been serious apprehension among the residents of the communities around the area and indeed in the entire South East geo-political zone of Nigeria. This is basically because both the identity of people whose corpses were dumped in the river, the circumstances that led to their death, and those who brought them and dumped them in the river have remained a mystery.
The commissioner of police, Anambra State, Mr. Bala Nasarawa and his Enugu State counterpart, Mr. Musa Daura had promptly visited the scene where the dead bodies were afloat the river and promised to join forces to unravel the mystery surrounding the corpses, but, have not come up with any clue, at least to the members of the public as at the time of filing this report.
And determined to ensure that the mystery behind the sad development was unraveled, the Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi has announced a N5 million reward to any person who could come up with useful information that would lead to the arrest of those behind the matter.
Governor Obi said, “Human life is sacred and people should respect the sanctity of human life, and such barbaric action as we have seen concerning these corpses we have seen here should not be condoned in a decent society in this time and age”. He was in London taking part in the 80th birthday celebration of the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku when the sad news broke out and he had to abandon the event and return to the State.
Not only are a few people worried over the discovery. The questions people are asking which no answers have been provided for include, what lead to the death of those people whose corpses were seen afloat the Ezu River, who are they, who killed them, why were they killed, why were their corpses thrown into the river and who are those who brought them and dumped them into the river?
Even as any clue is yet to be given by the security on any of the above puzzles, those corpses recovered by the police were said to have been given mass burial by officials of the Anambra State Ministry of Health assisted by the police. According to the Police, all the corpses were male adults and there were no gunshot injuries or any mark of violence found on them.
Some of the villagers maintained that some of the recovered corpses from the river were buried in a mass grave. They are even more worried that the corses were buried very close to the bank of the river meaning that the river would remain polluted for a long time as the bodies continue to decay.
But the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, Mr. Balla Nasarawa had on Sunday, January 20, 2013, said the Police Patholoigists from Benin and government doctors in Anambra State will commence autopsy on the corpses on Monday, January 21, 2013.
It is submitted that, since it is evident that some of the corpses had been buried, it is therefore not possible to perform autopsy on all the recovered corpses.
In another related development, the Leadership Sunday of January 13, 2013, had reported that the Police in Delta State recovered scores of unidentified corpses of women at a hideout/ operational base of suspected ritualists. The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO) Famous Ajieh, in confirming the incident said Police swooped on the suspects at their operational base in Okpanam village and arrested four of them. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) also stated that the Police found scores of mutilated bodies of women at the hideout.
The South East zonal Director of the Civil liberties Organisation, Olu Omotayo has viewed the Ezu River incident as an indication that security in Anambra State was porous. But any one who is familiar with the geography of Ezu River which situates as the boundary of Anambra to Enugu State would certainly not share Omotayo’s conclusion.
According to a statement by him, “The incident in Delta State is somehow straightforward and better handled by the Delta State Police Command, due to the arrest of some of the culprits, but we advised that the Police should further conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and ensure that those arrested are promptly arraign before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Moreover the incident in Anambra State clearly shows that security/ security network in the state is very porous and bad, or how do one explain how 20 corpses are transported and dumped in a community without the perpetrators being apprehended in the course of their operation by any security agent. We submit that performance of autopsy on the remaining corpses should not be the end of the case.
There should be a thorough investigation of how the corpses reached the Amansea Community, and who the perpetrators of this heinous act are. We call on the Inspector General of Police, to ensure that both cases in Anambra and Delta States are properly investigated and the perpetrators arraign before a Court of Law”.
Interestingly, the people of Amansea have already embarked on a traditional approach to unravel the mystery behind the dumping of the corpses in their river. Some of the villagers said that the goddess of the river is angry. But basically people see it as a challenge to the police to tell members of the public what happened.
Sunday 27 January 2013
http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/46161/2013/01/27/ezu_river_killings_water_scarcity_epidemic_loom.html
