Grief, fury as Enugu community blocks expressway over alleged killing
Grief turned into outrage penultimate Saturday as residents of Onolieze community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State barricaded Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, protesting alleged killing of a young farmer,
Grief turned into outrage penultimate Saturday as residents of Onolieze community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State barricaded Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, protesting alleged killing of a young farmer, Mr. Ogechukwu Mba, by suspected herdsmen.
The protest erupted a day after Mba was reportedly shot dead on his farm.
Sources alleged he was shot at close range in the chest and died instantly. Several others were said to have sustained injuries during the attack.
For many in the agrarian settlement within Awgu, Mba’s death was not an isolated tragedy, but the latest in a string of violent incursions into their farmlands.
Described by neighbours as industrious and devoted to his family, the late Mba reportedly left behind five children. His killing, coming shortly after the burial of another victim in similar circumstances, ignited long-simmering anger among women, youths and the elderly, who took to the highway in a dramatic cry for protection.
In a viral video seen by our correspondent, women dressed in black and traditional wrappers sat on the expressway, wailing and chanting as traffic came to a standstill.
“Herdsmen are killing our husbands and sons in our farmlands,” one protesting woman, whose name could not be confirmed, lamented. “Every three months, they will kill one person. The one we buried last week was 35 years old with five children. He was killed on his farm last November.
Read Also: Tinubu orders immediate release of funds for space assets maintenance
“Yesterday again, they killed Mr. Ogechukwu Mba. They shot him at close range in his heart. They didn’t give him any chance to survive. He also left five children. The deaths are too much. We have been crying but no intervention has been coming.”
The protesters alleged that beyond the killings, armed herdsmen frequently destroyed crops with cattle and attacked farmers who attempted to resist.
They also raised grave allegations of sexual violence against women.
“Our people are great farmers. It is from farming that we send our children to universities,” another woman said tearfully. “Now they don’t want us to enter our farms again.”
Tension reportedly heightened when security operatives arrived to disperse the demonstrators and clear the road. Some protesters accused soldiers of chasing them away and forcing an end to the blockade.
The Concerned Stakeholders of Onolieze Community, situated within Ugwuleshi Autonomous Community, has issued a strongly worded statement titled: ‘A Community Under Siege: A Clarion Call for Justice and Security in Onolieze, Enugu State.’
In the statement, the stakeholders described their homeland as “a theatre of unprovoked violence,” lamenting repeated attacks that had led to loss of lives, displacement of families and what they termed the “systematic destruction” of their social fabric.
“The persistent insecurity has forced a productive, agrarian population into a state of paralysed fear,” the statement read. “Farmers, who are the backbone of the local economy, can no longer cultivate their land without the looming shadow of death. This is more than a security breach; it is an assault on the dignity, safety and fundamental right to life of peaceful citizens.”
The group warned that sustained outrage alone would not shield the people and called for what it described as a transition “from communal grief to state-led protection.”
“The silence of the hills in Awgu must no longer be broken by the cries of the bereaved,” the stakeholders declared.
They demanded immediate tactical deployment of additional security personnel to deter further attacks, the creation of a community-integrated intelligence framework to preempt violence, and the urgent establishment of either a mini army barracks or a full police division within the Onolieze axis to serve as a permanent deterrent.
They also called for the restoration of public confidence to enable displaced farmers return to their ancestral vocation without fear.
In a solemn tribute, the community honoured those who have lost their lives in the attacks, describing them as heroes and heroines whose courage underpins the resilience of Onolieze.
“We pray for the eternal repose of their souls and extend our deepest empathy to the grieving families,” the statement said.
Contacted, spokesman for Enugu State Police Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said he had yet to receive details of the incident.
“Good evening. I don’t have such reports at the moment. I’ll have to verify, please,” he told our correspondent.
At press time, there was no official confirmation of the alleged killing. But in Onolieze, fear hangs heavily in the air. Farmlands lie untended, families mourn and a once-thriving farming community now waits anxiously — not just for justice, but for assurance that tending their soil will no longer be a death sentence.
