Uneasy calm pervades the sleepy town of Ekweumilli Community in Nnewi South Local Government Council Area of Anambra State since the mysterious death of six children of the same parents six months ago.
Facts emerged recently that the situation had also been compounded following the absence of police autopsy six month after from the state homicide section of the state CID Anambra State Police Command, which collected the samples of the diseased particulars before the were buried.
When contacted the PPRO, ASP Nkiru Nwode, told the Nigerian Tribune that she was not in position to give any answer. All other phone calls put across to her were not answered, but the elders of the community confirmed that they were yet to get the result.
It will be recalled that on the 16th July, 2016, the sleepy town of Ekwulimili was thrown unto darkness in the broad day light as the six children of the same parents died one after the other in less than an hour.
This tragic incident had several interpretations which made the community, police and Anambra State government to embark on different voyage to unravel the circumstances that led to the sudden death of those children. Youth of the town took to the street charting war song demanding immediate answer from the Elder of the community.
The six siblings namely Chukwuebuka 17, Chinemerem 15, Afomachukwu 13, Chekwubechukwu 11, Onyekachukwu 9, Chukwuziterem 6 had returned from school on the faithful day and after eating their lunch of a flour meal, developed stomach upset and within some few minutes died one after the other.
Specification was however roped that the children had used them in exchange of spiritual powers a claim nobody was able to substantiate.
The President General o f the community, Chief Ugochukwu Eweluaku told Regional Tribune that Ekwulumilli is a peaceful town and has always lived in harmony showing love to one another by instituting scholarship scheme while some wealthy individuals donates tricycle, motorcycle, cash to the unemployed youths to be self employed and that is why the rate of crime and youth restivness were reduced to the barest minimum in the community.
The President General however said that the community is still awaiting the result of the autopsy conducted on these unfortunate children and will not rest on their oars until the cause of their death is made public.
”We will not even mind to exhume the remains to conduct a fresh one if the Homicide square are finding if difficult because the community would not allow anything to dent their image.”
When visits the community recently, it was gathered that the youths of the town are regrouping for a shown down, putting their axed together against the Elders of the community.
But the Chairman of the Elders forum and Elder states man in the community Chief Patrick Dim Anyichie told our correspondent that normally is gradually returning to the town and that the community is doing everything to unravel the mystery. He took time to go down memory lane tracing the origin of the town to about 15th century and said such has not happened in the recent time or recorded anywhere in the history of the town.
According to him “Ekwulumili as a town in Nnewi South Local Government Area Anambra State, has never known for such calamity and has been the most peaceful town in the council area and even Anambra State. “Ekwulumilli has 14 Villages and made up of 25 political ward under the watch of HRH Igwe G.O Umeanadu, the Eze Onyeolulu.”
The community is also run by a constituted legally instructions like the Ekwululmilli development union (EDU) with a written constitution and other traditional institutions.
“So what happened to our community is tragic but we cannot question God. As patrons of the community, we have been pleading with the youths to calm down and join in the search for the mission object in the water. Nobody is hoppy and I am quite sure that God will reveal the circumstance, because nothing is hidden under the sun”.
Food poising according to him is one endemic thing that the federal government should look inward and find a lasting solution to .He recalled that in 1978, a family of six also perished in Nsukka after eating a cassava flour meal bought from the market and non survived it. There are similar stories in various parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the head of the deceased family, Chief Umeannabue Oramulu in a chat said they have forgotten the death, remember these children and the travail we passed through will be recalling the pains and the loss. We have resorted to prayers and hopefully God will revenge for us; if this act was done by a living human being let the God who watches over the world judge him or her, but what I am sure is that such cannot go unpunished.”
On the rift between the family and the father of the children, the head of the family said our differences with him have nothing to do with the death. “ It is an internal matter as it happened in every other places, ours is not different”. Even wife and husband, children and guardians quarrel, it is part of life and that makes life worth living.
On the youths’ aggressiveness, Chief Oramulu explained that it was a mere expression of anger and it is not out of place. However, we have pleaded with them that all should calm down let us together use our brains and pray to God to show us the way to unravel the circumstances that led to this great loss. “I am however, worried that uptill now at least six months after the homicide squad ought to have finished us with the test they conducted”.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on the Governor of Anambra State to call on the authorities of the police command to release the result at least to douse the tension and restore the confidence of our youths on the elders of the community”. “I am saying this because we don’t want any further calamity or death in this community because as an old adage has it, “a stitch in time saves nine”. We are peaceful and our community was never known for any form of crisis but I know that during the yuletide the people would want to know how far we have gone and the elders are bound to provide these answers as the custodian of the land.
”These are salient issues that the community should have answers, so that the cordial relationship existing in our sleepy town continues. I acknowledge that it is tragic and which can also happen to every other community or person, but we should try to do our own as human being to prevent such, so I am pleading that the government should come to our aid.
Meanwhile, palpable fear have gripped residents of the community as some of them who spoke to Regional Tribune said the community is sitting on a keg of gun powder, waiting to explode. “Oga, you are welcome We all know that this community if care was not taken will again make history. This is because I have heard that our youths both at home and in Diaspora are all coming home during this Christmas and definitely they will ask questions and if they don’t get satisfactory answer, then there will be trouble. One of the women in the community said. But a youth who did not disclose his name said there was no such arrangement, but the community will hold general meeting as usual after the Christmas, where other issues including that of the deceased children would be ironed out.
”If anybody is organizing anything count me out of it. We are not ready to disturb the peace of the town because what happened is now a history. The only thing is that if anybody come up tomorrow to own up, then the community will decide what to do. The elders are members of Ekwulumili and are fathers and mothers of the children of Ewulumili so the important thing was that everybody have embraced peace and resorted to prayers and even if you know who killed these children they are not coming back to life. So to me, it is now an exercise in futility and the best thing is for everybody to pray for the repose of the souls of these children.
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