New details on how a Delta State community monarch, HRM Akaeze
Edward Ofulue III was abducted and killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen
has emerged.
The people of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the State are in mourning over the despicable act that led to the death of their monarch in the hands of fulani herdsmen. They have described the act as a great insult to the community.
HRM Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, was abducted 19 days ago at about 4.00 pm, on January 5, 2016, by suspected Fulani herdsmen, was discovered stone dead 15 days after the creepy incident.
In Ubulu-Uku and other kingdoms, it is a taboo to kidnap a king,
not to talk of killing him. Vigilante group members found his
decomposing remains at the stomp of a tree in the bush at Umunede, Ika
North East local government area, the boundary between Delta and Edo
States.
Ofulue III, a lawyer, businessperson and an ardent Christian of the
Deeper Life Bible ministry was driving with a young pastor of the
church, who also served as one of his aides in his Land Cruiser Jeep,
along the notorious Obior/Igbodo Road when the abductors struck at a
disgracefully bad spot. The bad spot, about 40 kilometers from his
country home, has been a flash-point in recent times – many persons,
including two Catholic Priests were kidnapped at the spot by suspected
Fulani herdsmen, who more often than not lay siege there.
How we identified his remains
A vigilante group member, who pleaded anonymity, said they
discovered two decomposing corpses in the bush but were able to identify
the monarch “because of his beads and apparel,” adding, “The king’s corpse was found resting at the bottom of a palm tree.” The source, who was cornered by our correspondent in the community, said; “We
could not identify the second body but the fellow had Hausa shoes on.
This is a very challenging period for us in this kingdom. I was one of
those who went in search of the king.”
Robbery in the palace
Investigation by Vanguard showed that HRM Ofulue III, who was 10
years on the throne this year just marked the anniversary and was duped
of some money running into millions of naira and items, including royal
beads by one of his houseboys from the northern part of the country.
A dependable source said, “He kept N2million in the palace but his houseboy allegedly stole the money and ran away with the items.”
Set-up
He added, “I learned that some days after, unknown persons
suspected to be the Fulani herdsmen called the king, claiming that they
saw his beads and money and that he should come to collect them. They
told him to drive to the notorious road and the king not knowing that it
was a set-up, set out to meet with them. His fleeing houseboy linked up
with the herdsmen, who talked him into arranging the monarch for
ransom."
However, it was not confirmed whether the pastor that went with him
and his driver knew that anybody invited the king or that he was on a
mission to meet the kidnappers, who pretended to have found his beads.
However, while a version said only he and the pastor were in the car, another said they were three, including his driver.
“At the bad spot, the herdsmen, who laid ambush, came out
shooting sporadically. It was obvious they were old in the game, as they
led him into the bush immediately leaving his SUV on the roadside."
From available information, the fleeing houseboy did not show up,
but it was through him they got the monarch’s phone number with which
they established contact.
Deadly escape
Miraculously, both the king and the pastor, managed to break out
from the kidnappers’ grip a day after their abduction, but while the
pastor was able to make it to Ubulu-Uku, the king could not.
A villager said, the pastor told the story of how he and the
monarch broke loose from their abductors, but while he, being younger
was able to run with more energy, the monarch, due to his age, could not
make it because of exhaustion.
The king reportedly complained that he was tired and needed to
rest, but the pastor ran to the community to inform the people. He gave a
graphic description of the area in the bush where they took them to,
but before any of the search parties could get there, the Fulani
herdsmen found the king and took him away.
The escape of the pastor actually raised the villagers’ hope that
they could find their king alive and gave them more impetus to comb the
forest in search of him, but that was not to be.
The police confirmed the story of the pastor’s escape from the
kidnappers den. The pastor, according to our sources, narrated how the
herdsmen beat him mercilessly in the bush but spared the king because
they know his status.
He disclosed that they took them inside the forest in Mbiri area,
closer to Umunede and that their abductors came out when the monarch’s
driver slowed down the Jeep at the bad spot.
Contact with palace
Inside the bush, just like the recent kidnap of the former
Secretary to the Federal Government, SFG, Chief Olu Falae, by Fulani
herdsmen in the Southwest region, they asked the king for the names and
phone numbers of his trusted family member that would pay ransom for his
release.
The suspected kidnappers established contact with the palace after
about three days that they had taken the king hostage and made a demand
of N100 million ransom, but later settled for N30 million after much
negotiation.
They reportedly requested to speak with one of the monarch’s
brothers, Nzekwue Don Ofulue, and warned him never to inform the police
about the matter. It was not clear if he hinted the police but the
kidnappers subsequently asked the family to bring the ransom to Auchi.
On getting to Auchi in Edo State, they instructed him to move to Benin
and later to Kwale in Delta State.
Frustration
With the escape of the pastor, the abductors became quite perturbed
and panicky. They knew that the game had become more dangerous with the
police and the community people looking for them, but they were still
desperate to collect the ransom. “It was to divert the attention of the
police and people hunting for them that they asked the family to bring
the ransom to Auchi in Edo State and when they got there, they told them
to come to Benin and later Kwale,” a source said. However, they were
very suspicious that the family had contacted security agents and that
they would be arrested once they come out to collect the ransom.
Murder of a king
It was not certain whether the houseboy met with the monarch in the
kidnappers den after the escape of the pastor or whether the king tried
another escape, but the herdsmen took a decision that it was in their
best interest to kill the king. They fled after killing him and ceased
further communication with the family. Unknown to family members and
elders, who thought the king was still alive and furtively discussing
how to pay the kidnappers the ransom, but wondering at the same time why
the abductors had cut-off communication, the Fulani herdsmen had
abandoned the remains of the monarch in the forest and fled.
Dashed expectation
Not many believed the saga would end tragically for the king. In
fact, the police in the state kept telling journalists that the monarch
was not dead and that it was closing-in on the kidnappers.
From the comments of the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Baba
Alkali Usman, it was obvious, however, that the police knew about the
kidnappers’ contact with the family and demand for ransom.
Speaking at Udu in Udu local government area of the state at a
meeting with the Police Community Relations Committee, PCRC days before
villagers found the remains of the monarch, he said the police was
trying to rescue them alive.
He said the police was aware of the location of the monarch and
another kidnap-victim, a neurologist with the Delta State University
Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, Oghara, abducted before the New Year.
The police commissioners said the police was aware of the location
where the kidnappers were holding the two victims but would not disclose
plans to rescue the monarch in the media.
He said, “The kidnappers have made calls. We have been able to
close-in on their location. We have not been able to rescue them because
we are doing a lot of planning. The process of rescuing is delicate so
you must be very cautious so that you do not harm the victims”.
Fresh clue!
However, a source close to the palace hinted that security agents
arrested a young Hausa man found with the king’s GSM handset, five days
ago by the Police. As at yesterday, the identity of the second person
whose remains the vigilante members also found alongside the king could
not be confirmed. A source said the other victim wore a Hausa shoe. It
has not been established whether he was an aide of the king or one of
the kidnappers eliminated to cover their tracks.
Controversy over his tenure
Obi Ofulue, who ascended the throne of his ancestors at the age of
44 in 2006, spent most of his life in the United Kingdom and married a
foreigner. His people loved him but his reign was not without
disagreement. He had a running dispute with his elder brother born of a
white woman from the United Kingdom and a section of the community over
his kingship.
While some said it was a taboo to have someone born of a foreigner
as their king, others stood their ground that the first son should be
crowned, his maternal affiliation notwithstanding. However, those in
support of the late king, the second son of the royal family,
overwhelmed the other group, hence his successful installation as king
about 10 years ago. As the kingdom is mourning, some persons are linking
the killing of the monarch to the storm over his coronation, expressing
worry that the kingship dispute may arise again with his demise.
An informed native, who was not pleased with the monarch’s
Christianity, blamed him for what happened. He said, “The monarch
distanced himself from the tradition of the people and unguardedly gave
his life away. If he was consulting with the traditional priests, there
was no way he would have left his palace that day without knowing that
there was going to be danger.
“The oracles would have warned him, but he refused to associate
with them describing it as idol worship, now, look at what has
happened,” he said.
On the other hand, a pastor, who is a non-indigene, was shocked
that some people were accusing the king of being responsible for his
death because he refused to have anything to do with idols.
He said, “The king did the right thing by giving his life to Christ and worshiping God in the prescribed way.
“The monarch told his people when he assumed the throne that he
would not participate in anything that is not in conformity with his
faith and many of them rejected his reforms when he came, but they later
came to understand that he meant well,” he said. To some people in the monarchy, however, what happened was a palace coup by some power brokers in the community.
How he finally assumed leadership
Before his death, Obi Ofulue told a national newspaper of his reaction when his people called him to take up the kingship.
“Well, it was very shocking, I must say. I am married to a
foreigner, so the first thing I did was to call my wife, to tell her
everything in details, about what was coming up. The following day,
because I am a practicing Christian, we went together to see our pastor,
but we have a man we call the G.O., the General Overseer who is in
charge of our church in the whole of Western Europe, so, we went to see
him.
’When we got to the office, I told him everything. I wanted to
find out whether my coming home to become a traditional ruler and the
issue of playing my traditional roles would conflict with my Christian
belief; I told him everything. At the end of the day, he advised me to
go and take up my new responsibilities and that my coming back would be
to the glory of God. He said that my return will bring light to my
people, and that God was going to use me as an instrument.
“So what he did was to write a letter for me, because I am a
member of the Deeper Life Bible Ministries, that I should go to our
headquarters and give it to our pastor, but unfortunately, when I got to
Lagos, the Pastor was in Italy, but I met the second-in-command, so I
gave him the letter.
“The second-in-command also wrote a letter for me to give to
the man in charge of Asaba District. Therefore, when I came in, I
invited my church people again, but the first thing that struck me was
the level of development; you know when I came and I saw the state of
our basic infrastructure, I was a bit apprehensive. That was when I
realized the magnitude of the job ahead.”
He confessed that it was not easy to lead people because human beings were the most difficult to handle.
The monarch explained, “The courage came from a pastor friend
of mine. He came and started talking to me so I told him of my fears and
challenges, and he told me that God is going to take charge of
everything and the affairs of the land. I came back after meeting with
him to understand the big picture. I said God I hand over this land to
you.”
‘I’m not against tradition’
He said the fact that he did not engage in fetish traditional
practices did not mean that he was against the tradition of his people,
saying that at a time, he called meeting of his immediate family members
to explain his position.
Obi Ofulue recalled in that interview, an instance of a festival
called Igbamechi in his community. He said, “It lasts about three or
four days. My subjects will come with yam, palm wine, kolanuts and, even
money, whatever pleases them to bring, and the chief priest puts a
table right there and sits behind it while I sit next to him. “When I
was born, my grandfather called his chiefs and people together and had a
lavish celebration for three days to herald the birth of another king.
When the people come, he would use the white chalk to bless them and
pray for them, but they do not call the name of Jesus Christ; they call
other names.
“So when I came, I called them and told them that I was not
against that tradition, but that we are going to change it. Instead of
using the white chalk and praying in the names of deceased people, we
will be using the word –the Bible. I will be praying, while he sits
around there, that is the chief priest. “I did not take his position.
However, when people come, they would call me and I would pray for them
using the Bible and anointing oil. So I am not against tradition,
instead, let us do away with the ones we find wanting,” he had said.
Okowa hollers
The governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who became
dumbfounded upon hearing the news of the death of the monarch, said,
Friday evening, that his death had opened a sacrilegious chapter in
the history of the state and vowed that the state, under his watch,
would ensure that his abduction and subsequent death would be thoroughly
investigated.
His words, “It was sad that a reigning king was abducted but an
unheard of fact was his murder in the most dehumanising circumstances
by his abductors in the forest. I have directed an inquiry into this
abominable act and call on Deltans, particularly the kingdom and the
security agencies to work harmoniously to unearth the culprits”.
In a statement by his chief press secretary, Mr. Charles Aniagwu,
commiserating with the families of late monarch and people of Ubulu Uku
kingdom, the governor said “I have directed an inquiry into this
abominable act and call on Deltans; particularly the Kingdom and the
security agencies to work harmoniously to unearth the culprits”
Governor Okowa lamented that he received with shock the news of the
Obi’s abduction about 19 days ago and enjoined the people of Ubulu-Uku
to close ranks in the course of this investigation.
He said that King Edward’s death “will mark a new vista in the
battle against kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state and
called on parents to warn their wards about the companies they keep as
the state was out to make a guinea pig of anybody found to be culpable
in related crimes.”
The governor, who underscored the place of security for peaceful
and investor friendly environment, observed that it was against this
background that his administration set up the committees on peace and
security with prominent community leaders as members.
Senator Okowa noted that as part of enlightenment on the dangers of
these violent crimes, the government has been sponsoring seminars in
higher institutions across the state to sensitize the youths on the
dangers and implications of these crimes to their career and the
security of the state.
Maddening affront
For the people of Ubulu-Uku kingdom, it was strange and an insult
that Fulani herdsmen kidnapped their king and the natives, local
vigilante members, hunters and herbalists raised different search
parties searching for him. As soon the people confirmed the death of
the monarch, the town erupted in a protest on Friday with irate
villagers marching about the streets in anger.
Police confirm death
Police Public Relations Officer for the Delta State Command, DSP
Celestina Kalu, in a statement confirming the death and recovery of the
remains of the monarch, Friday, said, “On 5/1/2016, the DPO Igbodo
Division received information that the Obi of Ubulu-Uku, HRM Edward
Akaeze Ofulue III, was kidnapped alongside a friend. Sequel to the
report, detectives were mobilized in search of the Obi and possible
arrest of the hoodlums. The Jeep in which both victims were travelling
in was found abandoned in the bush around Igbodo area.”
“Following information from passersby that they saw suspected
hoodlums entering the bush where the Jeep was recovered, vigilante men
and local hunters were mobilized to join hands with the police in
ensuring the rescue of the Obi and apprehension of the kidnappers. The
other victim later escaped from their abductors, while efforts have been
on to rescue the Obi of Ubulu-Uku.
“However, on 20/1/2016 information was received by the DPO
Umunede Division that two unidentified male corpses in decomposing state
were found in a bush within Umunede at the boundary between Delta and
Edo states. Consequently, detectives moved to the scene and photographed
the corpses while efforts are on to evacuate the corpses to hospital
for autopsy,” she said.
Kalu added, “Meanwhile, one of the corpses has been identified
as that of the Obi of Ubulu-Uku by his family members. The Command
wishes to commiserate with the people of Ubulu-Uku kingdom over the
unfortunate incident and hereby urged them to remain calm, while
assuring them that efforts are being made to fish out the perpetrators
of this heinous act.”
Fish out his killers - Hon Mrakpor
Reacting to the death of the king, the member representing
Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives,
Mrs Joan Mrakpor described the passage of the monarch as catastrophic.
Mrakpor, who is also a cousin to the late king, said amid sobs, “What a waste,” calling for drastic solution to the harassment of the civil population in Delta North by nomadic kidnappers.
“What have we done to deserve this? They keep on brutalizing our people,”
she asked. She appealed to the police and other security agents to go
after those behind the dastardly act with a view to bringing them to
book.
Source: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment