There is palpable fear in Iviukwe community of Etsako East local government area of Edo State over alleged police brutality and mass arrest of community leaders over a leadership tussle.
A viral video showed police officers from Agenebode Division of Edo State Police Command, tying the legs of Iviukwe community chairman, Chief Adulphus Ozekhome, with a tether after putting handcuffs on his hands after his arrest.
A reliable police source said the policemen in the video were carrying out the instruction of the State’s Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro.
Also, Ozekhome’s family members said he is being accused of frivolous offences, including destruction of some buildings and being the brain behind the existential community crisis over who should be the community head.
“This is the height of humiliation. The police has taken side with the Okumagbe of Uwano Kingdom, George Oshiapi Eghabor, who has been intimidating our community for daring to say ‘our land is not for sale,”
Unos Ozekhome, a member of the community said, adding that, “We have suffered so much in the hands of the Chief Eghabor.”
It was gathered that police officers, numbering about 70 had laid siege to the community for over a week for resisting a new village head they said was imposed on them by the Okumagbe of Uwano Kingdom, a development which resulted in confrontations and infighting. The crisis also led to the destruction of some properties in the village.
The police has declared all the youths in the community wanted, forcing them to take refuge in neigbhouring villages, for allegedly fighting some villagers loyal to the Okumagbe of Uwano and resisting the arrest of the older brother of renowned lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Mr Francis Ozekhome, who was also fingered in the crisis.
As at the of filing this report, a large number of the policemen were still occupying the community, forcing the residents to live in fear.
Some of the villagers say it has been days and nights of sporadic shooting by the policemen whom they say have been allegedly compromised instead maintaining peace and neutrality in such crisis situation and allow the court to decide.
Recall that Iviukwe community has been in crisis for some years over the controversial sale of about 100 hectres of lands of the village to Dangote for the building of a fertilizer plant. However, the plant has not been built.
The land owners said they were not carried along in the sale of the land, and has since dragged the fertilizer company and Okumagbe of Uwano Kingdom to court for recovery of their ancestral land.
