Passerby Behe-ded as Two Brothers Fight

 

What a very sad news as an innocent passerby gets behe-ded as two brothers fight over land in Ebonyi state.

 

The attacker, Maduka Samuel Ogbu, 38, made an attempt to strike his brother, Peter Ogbu with a machete during a quarrel at their farm in Ivo  Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Peter escaped after being dealt a blow in the back.  

 

Maduka was still very angry at the moment, he saw Udi passing by, he thought Udi was a friend to his brother and instantly used the machete on him which took the head of the innocent man.

 

Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Mr Maigari Dikko said that the incident happened on September 14, 2013.

 

On that day Peter went to his farm to check on his crops and found out that the fire his elder brother Maduka set near the farm had damaged his crops, Peter who was angry at the moment went to challenge his brother and instead of Maduka making peace he chased peter with a Machete.  

 

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Family loses four children to petrol explosion in Ebonyi

Four children of one Mr. Godwin Nwodom of Opefia village in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State were last Sunday burnt to death, following an unfortunate fire disaster.

Sources close to the family revealed that the tragedy struck when a kerosene lantern in the house caught fire while Mrs. Nwodom was trying to dispense fuel to a customer.

The inferno, which razed down the three bed room apartment belonging to Mr. Nwodom, also destroyed other property worth millions of naira.

Accordingly, the situation also left the mother of the four children, Mrs. Ijeoma Nwodom, with serious injuries as she is currently in a hospital receiving treatment.

Mr. Nwodom, who wept uncontrollably, stated that the inferno had rendered him, his surviving wife and other survivors hopeless in life, and called on the state government to come to their aid as all their properties had been lost due to the inferno.

Chairman, Izzi local government area, Chief Dustan Nwogbaga, who commiserated with the family of the deceased, called on the survivors to take solace in God who he said was the best comforter.

Nwogbaga described the incident as unfortunate and advised people to avoid storing fuel in their homes as such was capable of causing disaster in the state.

He presented five fathoms of wrappers, four bushels of rice, 10 bundles of zinc, a bag of beans and N100, 000 to the family.

A member of the family, Mr. Andrew Nwodom, who commended the council chairman for coming to their aid in such a critical time, said though the pains of losing four children was difficult to forget, they would still anchor their hope in God.

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NEMA officials escape mob attack in Ebonyi

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, who went to Ezillo in Ebonyi State to donate relief materials to victims of the New Year clashes narrowly escaped mob attack.

The team, headed by Dr Bamdele Onimode, the agency’s South-East Zonal coordinator, had donated relief materials to the community and proceeded to the Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki, to visit some of the victims.

The irate villagers blocked the road leading to Enugu from the medical centre and refused the NEMA officials’ vehicles passage.

The villagers, who wielded machetes, guns and sticks, were poised for confrontation with the police.

One of the villagers said yesterday that the incident followed the arrest of one of them by the police deployed to the community.

“We will not allow any car to cross this road until the police release our arrested member. We do not need the items donated to us by NEMA again; we will cause problem here if our man is not released because we have only few survivors left in our community.”

The villagers refused to open up the road, even after their leaders had appealed to them to let go of the NEMA team.

The team had to take an alternative route leading to the main road after a volunteer helped them out.

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At least 50 killed in ethnic clashes in Ebonyi State

At least 50 people have been killed in eastern Nigeria in clashes between rival ethnic groups, officials said.

A government spokesman said the violence in the state of Ebonyi took place between the Ezza and Ezilo peoples due to a land dispute.

Dozens of riot police have been deployed to the area, officials said.

The attacks came hours after a state of emergency was declared in parts of the country due to an unrelated spate of attacks by Islamist group Boko Haram.

President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to "crush" Boko Haram, just days after the group carried out a deadly bombing on a church on Christmas Day.

Onyekachi Eni, a government spokesman, said the killings in Ebonyi took place after members of the Ezza group "invaded and attacked" the neighbouring Ezilo community.

"The dispute between the two communities, which started in 2008, was believed to have been settled until the latest conflagration," he said.

The state governor and police chief have visited the area to view the damage, Mr Eni told AFP news agency.

The BBC's Tomi Oladipo in Lagos say the two groups have a history of land disputes, in an area where most of the people depend on subsistence farming for a living.

Our correspondent says that while these attacks do not appear related to those by the Islamist group Boko Haram, the clashes only add to the list of President Jonathan's problems, with security forces already having their hands full trying to suppress the mounting insecurity in the north.

On Saturday, Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of the country following the attacks from Boko Haram, including one on Christmas Day in Abuja which killed dozens of people.

The measure is in force in areas of the Yobe and Borno states in the north-east, Plateau state in central Nigeria and Niger state in the west.

International borders in the affected areas have been temporarily closed.

There is growing concern that Boko Haram - whose name means "Western education is forbidden" - has developed a presence across the region.

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Generator fume kills six in Ebonyi

SIX persons were yesterday confirmed dead, while six others are now receiving treatment at the Presbyterian Joint Hospital, Uburu, in Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi State after in-haling fume emanating from a generating set.

The victims, who are members of the same family, died of suffocation on Tuesday.

Reacting to the incident, Chairman of Ohaozara local government area, Mr. Ogbuefi Akpa, who expressed shock over the death of the family members, added that he had visited the hospital where he charged the management to ensure that adequate medical attention was given to the victims.

He noted that the deputy governor of the state, Engr Dave Umahi, had equally visited the hospital to commiserate with the family of the victims and made a donation N100,000.

An eyewitness, Mr John Kish Onu told newsmen that the incident occurred when the family went to bed without putting off their generating set they kept along the passage of their house.

According to Onu, six other members of the family were rushed to the Presbyterian Joint Hospital, Uburu, where they are receiving urgent medical attention.

“Their parents went to bed first before the children and because one of the children was sick, the children had gathered to pray for a sick member of the family. After the prayers, one of them carried the generator to the passage and left it there”.

“Meanwhile, one of the doors at the passage which led to where they were sleeping was open while they went to bed without knowing the implication of their action. In the morning, people expected them to be awake but that didn’t happen as they were all lying helpless and dead.

“They are about 12 that slept in the room. At present, six children have been confirmed dead, while six are in the hospital,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Ebonyi state command, Mr John Eluu, who also confirmed the incident, however, pointed out that six others were in critical condition.

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Committee discovered 494 illegal schools in Ebonyi

The committee set up by Ebonyi Ministry of Education to check activities of illegal schools has discovered 494 of such schools in the state.

Addressing newsmen on the activities of the committee on Sunday, Mr Ndubisi Agbo, the Commissioner for Education, said the discovery showed the existence of 166 illegal nurseries, 205 primary and 123 secondary schools in the state.

These schools are substandard because their inauguration did not follow due process while they lack the necessary facilities and manpower to ensure effective learning," he said.

The commissioner remarked that government would take drastic actions against such schools to serve as a deterrent to others.

"The committee which identified these schools had been working since the past one year, so I am setting up another one to re-valuate the activities of the old one,'' he said.

"The re-evaluation became necessary due to the fact that most of these schools would had complied with the due process of registration and upgraded its facilities and manpower. "

He noted that the new committee just as the old one, was equitably instituted to ensure that none of the schools is victimised.

"It consists of the Permanent Secretary/ Head of Department- Inspectorate Division of the Education Ministry, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (Ebonyi chapter) and representative of the Ministry of Justice.

"We also incorporated representatives of the Catholic Missions and those of Pentecostal/ other orthodox churches, Muslim community, among others,'' he said.

He said the committee "has 30 days to carry out its assignment and has been empowered within this period to close down any school that still does not meet up with the stipulated requirements."

Agbo reiterated the state government's commitment to uplifting the standard of education in the state through qualitative and quantitative teaching.

"We would always collaborate with private schools in ensuring that the educational fortunes of the state are improved."

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