Palpable fear pervades many communities in Imo State as three traditional rulers have been abducted in one week even as gunmen murdered Eze Edwin Azike, the traditional ruler of Atta ancient kingdom in the Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State yesterday, dumping his corpse at the community’s market square early this morning.
Sources said that following the abduction of the traditional ruler, four people were shot dead in the community same Thursday Eze Azike was abducted.
The chairman of Traditional Rulers Council/ Community Policing in the state, Eze Emma Okeke, said that the monarchs in the state were saddened by the killing of their colleague.
Describing the killing of Azike as an abomination, Okeke said that the council was on Friday morning informed of the killing of the traditional ruler.
He said, “We have got the sad news about the killing of Eze Edwin Azike. This is abominable in Igbo culture. I don’t know why traditional rulers are being hunted like this. We are not politicians, we are only custodians of the culture of our people. We were informed on Thursday when he was kidnapped, only for him to be found dead, this morning.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for the police in the state, Micheal Abattam, promised to make an inquiry and get back to our correspondent but he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
In similar development, the traditional ruler of Mbutu in the Aboh Mbaise LGA, Damian Nwaigwe, was aldo abducted on Thursday morning from his palace.
It could be recalled that the traditional ruler of Achi Mbieri in the Mbaitoli LGA, Henry Madumere, was on November 20, 2021, kidnapped at Iho in Ikeduru LGA, while on the way to a public function.
The octogenarian monarch, who is the father of a former deputy governor of the state, Eze Madumere, was released six days after his abduction.