KINGSLEY EBERE
A businessman and a lady were shot dead by gunmen on the Umuchu /Umunze Road in Umuchu town, Aguata LGA, which was abandoned by the Anambra State Government.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the businessman, later identified through his National Identity card as Umeugochukwu Chinasa Chijioke and the yet to be identified lady were brutally murdered on the road on Monday morning inside his vehicle.
This happened after the late Chijioke went to his home town, Uga, to inspect his new building under construction and thereafter tried to pass through the road to Umunze town to his destination.
However, while he was driving with the lady inside his vehicle, he approached the bad portion of the road and slowed down. As he was moving slowly to navigate through the bad portion, the unidentified gunmen struck, shot both of them dead and escaped.
They were left in the pool of their blood before the Police were contacted. Their corpses were retrieved and taken to the nearby hospital where they were confirmed dead, were deposited at an undisclosed mortuary for autopsy reports while the family of the deceased was contacted and they identified the corpses.
Since the ugly incident happened, there has been an uneasy calm in Umuchu town as the same armed men were said to have attacked and injured a security man at the nearby town, Umuomaku in Orumba LGA.
Some of the Indigenes, who spoke to P.M.EXPRESS, expressed their shock and disappointment on Governor Soludo, who had visited the spot last year with the Interim Chairman of Aguata Local Government, Prince Chibueze Ofobuike, who is an Indigene of Umuchu and made promises to fix the road.
However, since then nothing has been done on the road, which has now turned to haven for criminals operating within Aguata and Orumba LGA.
According to the Indigenes, apart from the recent murder and robbery attacks on that particular spot, many people including the indigenes were said to have lost their lives and their properties due to the bad road, which made it easy for robbers to strike. So many victims had been kidnapped and ransom collected from their families because the road passed through Anambra State to both Imo, Abia and Ebonyi States.
An indigene, Martin Onyebuchi, stated that the Governor and Local Government Chairman have disappointed the town after giving them hope of repairing the road last year not knowing they may have used it garner the votes of the people.
“We did not know that Governor Soludo will disappoint Umuchu because we gave him massive support during the election but it has turned out that he doesn’t value our support for his administration” he stated.
Another indigene, Mr. Patrick Ibeabuchi, appealed to the Governor and the Local Government Chairman to come to the aid of Umuchu town and its environs over the insecurity in the area.
He noted that for sometime, there had been total breakdown of security in the area and people are being kidnapped and robbed on daily basis without any assistance from the State security agencies.
He explained that the kind of sophisticated of arms and ammunition the robbers were using in the area were not what the local vigilante can handle and therefore, the State Government should show their presence in Umuchu town.
He stated that farmers are now afraid to go to their farms because they may be kidnapped or robbed as the criminals are having their field day in Umuchu /Umunze on daily basis.