Gunmen reportedly killed Chief Linus Nwatu, the president-general of the Town Union, on Saturday morning, causing chaos in the Oruku Community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
His assassination brought the total number of notable Community inhabitants killed by shooters believed to be cultists during a communal war with neighbouring community, Umuode, to eight.
According to a local source, Chief Nwatu, a retired police officer who lived with his family after leaving the Nigeria Police some time ago, was shot dead early on Saturday morning by robbers who broke into his home.
The insider expressed concern that the President-General was assassinated on the same day that Dennis Ike (also known as Peace), a neighbourhood watch member who was killed by gunmen in the town on June 6, 2022, was to be buried.
Ike, who was on a motorcycle at the time, was killed by gunmen who ambushed and ambushed him.
After killing him, the thugs set his body and motorcycle on fire before torching other local residents' homes that fateful day.
According to a local source, the gunmen attacked the president-compound general's this morning and brutally assassinated him in order to prevent the burial of the deceased Ike, which was scheduled to take place today (Saturday).
The source, who spoke on anonymity, said the attack on Nwatu was not unconnected with his role in the lingering communal conflict in Oruku, which the Enugu state government has failed to resolve over the years.
The traditional ruler of Oruku community, Igwe Emmanuel Mbah and several natives had been murdered by hoodlums loyal to a faction in the communal dispute from December 2020 till date. The traditional ruler was assassinated on December 26, 2020 and his killers are yet to be brought to book.
The assassination later sparked a disorder that caused destruction of lives and property in the community prompting Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to institute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate Mbah’s killing.
The murdered Town Union President, Chief Nwatu, had alleged while testifying before the commission that “23 collaborators and sponsors were fueling cultist activities in Oruku” to destroy lives and property.
He had urged the commission headed by Justice Harold Eya to look into the names listed in his memorandum as the masterminds of Oruku crisis and bring them to book.
The Justice Harold Eya panel had since submitted its findings to Governor Ugwuanyi but the government has yet to make the report public and take necessary steps to restore lasting peace in the area.
As a result, many natives who deserted the community following series of attacks and arson, have not returned to their homes while those who remained in Oruku and neigbouring towns have continued to exist in fear though security operatives conduct patrol activities in the area periodically.
Another community source told newsmen while lamenting incessant killing of members of the community by people whose identities were known while the government pay no attention, said eight leaders of the community have been killed by the same gang.
The source gave the names of those killed in less than two years as “Igwe Emmanuel Mba, Hon. Linus Nwatu, Mr. Samuel Ani, Mr. Okechukwu Ogbodo, Mr. Calistus Amushi, Mr. Dennis Ike, Mr. Zik Mba and Mr. Okenwa Mbah.
“Their killers have vowed to kill us all and the government is doing nothing about it. The governor deceived us that he was making peace and abandoned us to be extinguished by Raymond Okenwa, Moses Nnamani and others.”
Meanwhile, efforts to get reaction of the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccesful as the Command’s spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe could not be reached as the phone was switched off.