More information on the case of the police and Ifeanyi Ejiofor

This was what happened: in Oraifite, they have two masquerade groups – Otuafor and Otueke. Ejiofor became the leader of Otueke. The two groups clash now and then.  According to our sources, who are indigenes of Oraifite and familiar with the actors and the incidents, in  every quarrel between Otuafor and Otueke, Ejiofor would use some young men as his private army to intimidate and scare his opponents. Through the use of such young men, he became feared and influential in the community.

Then there was one big fight between the two groups. Otueke group abducted some members of the Otuafor group. Then Otuafor filed a petition with the police. The peition named Ejiofor as the person they petitioned against. The police invited Ejiofor. Ejiofor did not show up at the appointed time and did not take calls from ACP Abbey.

ACP Abbey led some policemen which included the head of SARS and another DPO and a few others to go and meet Ejiofor and bring him in for interview, especially as people were said to be have been abducted and held.

As the police were on their way to Ejiofor’s house, boys believed to be Ejiofor’s boys decided to waylay the police. They attacked the police, killing two and wounding many. They then burnt their bodies  in the police vehicle. Who are these boys? We don’t know. However, the Government of Anambra State and the police believed they were the same IPOB boys that Ejiofor has  been using in the community.

The police went back, reinforced and came back to the house of the leader of Otueke. According to our sources, when they got to Ejiofor’s house, they met armed resistance from the boys guarding Ejiofor. They opened fire, killing some and torching the houses. Ejiofor who was at home when they arrived manage to flee and escape arrest.

How did the IPOB become involved in this matter? The involvement of IPOB was by inference and deduction.. It was known or believed that the private army of bodyguards and intimidation force that Ejiofor has been using were IPOB members. That was not a secret.  It was known that the easy access to IPOB resources was Ejiofor’s source of power and it was believed that the boys Ejiofor allegedly used to waylay the police and to resist them at his house and prevent his arrest were IPOB members

The police have been raiding IPOB members’ locations even outside Anambra State, including those men who were charged along with Kanu as casemates – Bright, Ben, and Chidiebere. For instance, they arrested Bright in Imo State and have kept him in an unknown locatuon. Ben heard they were coming and fled. The 3rd one is Chidiebere who is in Enugu. No news on whether they arrested him

But it is strange that the police are going after known IPOB members who have nothing to do with what happened in Oraifite. That suggests a crackdown on IPOB members outside what happened in Oraifite.

As things are, this remains a very serious case. The death of two senior police officers means that the case cannot be pushed aside easily. Even if Ejiofor is ultimately cleared of murder charges, he remains exposed to other charges. It will take a long time to resolve.

As things are, the fate of Ejiofor who remains on the run and is believed to be hiding in the house of someone in Oraifite, lies in the hands of the Governor and Sir Emeka Ofor. Even at that it will require almost a miracle to rescue him.

It remains uncertain how Ejiofor intends to end the run and surrender himself. The critical thing now is to make sure there will be no more shooting or more casualties. We need to know the identity of all those arrested, where they are detained and to ensure that their due process rights are preserved.