- The late Solomon Anikwe
By Anthony Nwachukwu
Some gunmen suspected to be agents of land grabbers in Igga community, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Friday murdered 25-year-old Solomon Anikwe, as he was working in his mother’s farm at Adani community, also in the council area.
The deceased was identified as the son of the former chairman of the community’s Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), David Anikwe, who was also murdered by suspected gunmen in front of his home on February 17, 2022.
It was further learnt that the late Solomon had returned from Onitsha in Anambra State to help his mother in her farm work because of his father’s untimely death, but was trailed and murdered by the assailants.
Angry youths reportedly took Solomon’s corpse to the Government House, Enugu, but were turned back and directed to the State Police Command, where they were further advised to deposit the corpse in the morgue while investigations begin.
Confirming the incident, the Igga monarch, His Royal Majesty, Herbert Ukuta, said the late Solomon was the fifth victim of gunmen’s bullets in quick succession in recent time.
He recalled that the President General of the community, Raphael Amuche, was murdered in similar manner on April 4, 2022.
Igwe Ukuta said the government has abandoned his community to the mercy of the rampaging gunmen, lamenting that his subjects and other residents have deserted the community for fear of the unknown.
According to him, he had raised alarm over threat to his life and some of his subjects by the killer-gang, alleging that those that carried out the killings were earlier indicted by the community and Enugu State Government for selling their community lands.
The confirmed that many of his subjects who are opposed to the sale of their community lands were still on the watch list of the land grabbers, who he also accused of promoting local wars between Igga and Ojor communities in the council.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, stated that “investigation has commenced into the report of shooting and murder of one Nwabisi Solomon Chizoba (male) at Site Road, Adani, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen on 13/05/2022 at about 0130hrs.”
