The Afikpo South Local Government Area Commander of Ebubeagu Security outfit, Mr Kalu Chima Ekuma also known as ‘Oyeoku’ (Setter of Fire), yesterday narrated how his 7 months old pregnant wife was killed by hoodlums in his community.
The development has received lots of condemnations from members of the community, including the All Progressive Congress, APC House of Representatives candidate for Afikpo North/South in the 2023 general election, Barr. Eni Uduma Chima, among others.
The deceased, Urenwa Kalu Chima, was shot dead by hoodlums in the early hours of 2:30a.m of January 1st, 2023.
Narrating his ordeal, Ekuma said: “I am a Commander of Ebubeagu in Afikpo South local government.
“On 1st January, 2023, I was sleeping in my bed with my wife and my two kids; Blessing Kalu Chima, 12 years old and Roseline Kalu Chima, 2 years when I heard a gunshot in front of my house which woke me up immediately.
“I wallked to the window and opened the curtain and saw men with Ak-47 riffles numbering about 19 and I know them all.
“Because of my wife’s pregnancy, she couldn’t run. When the door was hit the third time, I left my wife and my children in the backyard. I entered the fence and jumped the fence and landed where villagers throw waste.
“I lay there and heard the last gunshot and my wife shouted and couldn’t talk again. They poured fuel on my two houses and set them on fire.
“I called my PA to go and see what was happening in my house. When he got there, they had finished everything they were doing and he saw the dead body of my wife and my two kids there.
“I called one of my neighbours who assisted me because I was no longer in order and they came and assisted in carrying my wife’s dead body to the mortuary and deposited it.
“As I am talking to you one of the suspects is in the crack office of the state police command in Abakaliki here. Others are on the run but the police are seriously looking for a way to arrest them.”
Reacting, the All Progressive Congress, APC House of Representatives candidate for Afikpo North/South Federal Constituency, Barr. Eni Uduma Chima who condemned the killing of the pregnant woman added that such a dastardly act cannot be excused under any guise.
“The only thing correct in the stories being sold to the public by Mr Kalu Chima Ekuma also known as ‘Oyeoku’ (Setter of Fire), who is the Afikpo South Commander of Ebubeagu are the facts that buildings were burnt and someone killed. The rest of the narratives desperately try to link the crimes with those who participated in what happened in Ekoli-Edda and with the supporters of Barr. Eni Uduma Chima is but a fabricated hog-wash which cannot pass even the most superficial scrutiny.
“The killing of a pregnant woman and wife of the Commander of Ebubeagu Security Operatives in Afikpo South Local Government Area is extremely wicked and condemnable. This barbaric act cannot be excused under any guise, and I shall invest my time, material and other resources to get to the root of the matter and cause law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to book.
“I make bold to assert that the arson and killing of a pregnant woman in Amoso Edda have nothing to do with the Ekoli-Edda people, who regrettably violently reacted to the killing of a youth leader- Mr. Eseni Kalu Egwu- in Ekoli Edda. The Amoso Edda atrocities also have nothing to do with the supporters and loyalists of Barr. Eni Uduma Chima, who are currently being harassed all over the place by Ebubeagu Operatives.”
