From the attacks that greeted the suspension of a monarch by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to the arrest of a guest during a live television program in Abia State by police officers, last week was full of events in southeastern Nigeria.
It was the third week of January 2024.
Here are highlights of the top stories making headlines in the region over the past week:
Driver and two passengers die in accident in Anambra
The week began on a painful note in Anambra State where three persons were burnt beyond recognition when their vehicle caught fire along Ezinano-Nkwo on Agulu Road in Anaocha Local Government Area on Sunday night.
The incident occurred due to excessive speeding and improper overtaking and those who lost their lives were the driver and two passengers (a man and a woman), according to the sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Anambra, Adeoye Irelewuyi.
Murder of a local vigilante in Ebonyi community
The next day, on Monday, gunmen shot dead a female security guard, Blessing Onana, and injured others during an attack on the Ngboejeogu Central Security office, Ngbo Court in Ohaukwu local government area of the state. by Ebonyi.
The Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Odono Onwe, said the murder was reported to the police and expressed hope that the attackers would be located.
Tinubu’s statements at the inauguration of Uzodinma
Last Monday, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State was sworn in for his second term alongside his deputy, Chinyere Ekomaru.
But it was Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s comment that stole the show at the inauguration, which was attended by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other guests.
Tinubu, during the inauguration ceremony at the Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri, said he and others were previously afraid to visit the South-Eastern state, apparently due to insecurity in the state.
“Before now, we were all scared to come to Imo State. Today, Imo is safe, happy and ready for business,” Tinubu said.
The situation in Imo, however, contradicts the President’s statement as deadly attacks continued in the state under Governor Uzodinma, including the killing of security agents, the killing of a PDP district chief and the killing of a retired police officer and his wife.
The suspension of the monarch by Governor Soludo
It was an action-packed week in Anambra State.
The suspension of the traditional ruler of the Neni community in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, Damian Ezeani, by the state governor, Charles Soludo, sparked many attacks on the governor over the past week.
There is no indication that the attacks will end soon.
Ezeani was suspended for conferring a chieftaincy title on Ifeanyi Ubah, a state senator.
The state government had threatened to do the same to other traditional rulers if they did not revoke such recognitions.
The governor’s action sparked attacks from various groups and individuals in the state.
The first to attack the governor were the traditional rulers of Anambra State.
The traditional rulers, in a letter signed by the Chairman of the Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alfred Achebe, said the Soludo administration was being disrespectful, in the way it was “mistreating” and suspending some traditional rulers.
The monarchs accused the governor of “dehumanizing and disparaging” the traditional institution of the state.
Another group, the Southeast Youth Leaders Coalition, also attacked Soludo over the way his administration is treating the traditional institution in the state.
Goodluck Ibem, president general of the group, in a statement on Friday in Awka, described Governor Soludo’s treatment of traditional institutions as “dictatorial and undemocratic.”
Police Raid Station, Arrest Guest During Live TV Show
There was drama in Umuahia, Abia State on Tuesday when some police officers stormed the television station ABN TV and arrested a guest, Udensi Donald, during a live programme.
The director of the radio and television station, Ifeanyi Okali, said on Wednesday that the management was “concerned about the invasion of our station” by police officers.
Okali said the incident occurred at around 2:40 pm and the police claimed that Uche Udensi, an elder brother of the guest, had written a petition against him over a family matter.
The director said that during the police invasion some of the station’s broadcast equipment was damaged, including a laptop, a camera and microphones.
The incident sparked criticism from several people against the police.
The state police commissioner, Kenechukwu Onwuemeile, later visited the station and apologized, assuring that the officers involved in the incident would be disciplined.
‘Stolen’ corpse
There was a story of a mortician in Anambra State who was accused of stealing the corpse of a 26-year-old woman deposited in his mortuary.
The mortician, Ugochukwu Joseph, is the owner of a local mortuary, New Centuary Medical Complex Mortuary, where the body of the deceased woman, Chinonso Okeke, was deposited.
The mortuary is in Isuaniocha, a community in Awka North local government area of the southeastern state.
Mr Joseph, the mortician, was accused of approaching the family with the sum of N850,000 for a settlement after the matter was reported to the Isuaniocha community.
The Anambra State government said it sued the mortician over the missing body, according to a statement by Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, media assistant to the state Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, on Friday.
The commissioner handed the case over to the ministry’s legal unit after listening to the family and asking “necessary” questions about the matter, according to the press aide.
READ ALSO: Another group attacks Soludo for ‘mistreating’ Anambra traditional rulers
The case was filed and summoned for hearing at a magistrate court in Achalla, another community in Awka North local government area of the state, he said.
Police raid criminals’ hideout in Enugu
The Enugu State Police on Friday raided a criminal hideout in Centenary City, Enugu, and arrested three armed suspects, according to a statement by the state police spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, on Saturday.
Other gang members fled the scene before they could be arrested, he said.
Ndukwe, deputy superintendent of police, said police recovered eight firearms at the scene, four active and 26 spent cartridges.
The police spokesperson added that the police also recovered from the hideout a machete, four solar-powered CCTV camera units, 13 GSM phones, a DVD player, four bags, clothes and items suspected to be amulets.