Son of slain monarch, Samuel Iroha, has urged the police to arrest the transition chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, Prince Dan Okoli, for allegedly inciting youths of the area to murder his father, His Royal Highness, Eze Iroha Nwankwo.

Samuel also wants the police to arrest the Supervisory Councillor representing Leru, Mr. Livinus Okoronkwo, for allegedly acting in concert with Okoli.

The late monarch was said to have been murdered in cold blood in his palace at about 11pm last Monday, June 26, by irate youths from Ugwu Leru, a community in Umunneochi council area.

Samuel told Transport & Business Express in Umuahia that the Umunneochi Transition Committee Chairman has questions to answer over the gruesome murder of the 65-year-old farmer and traditional ruler of Ugwu Leru.

But the council boss has washed his hands off the dastardly act, denying ever inciting the youths against the late royal father.

Accounts of how Eze Iroha met his tragic end vary between the deceased’s son and Okoli.

The son claimed that the youths mobilised and headed straight to their palace, attacked and hacked his father to death minutes after being addressed by the transition committee chairman.

But Okoli said the late king died at his in-law’s place from injuries he sustained while trying to scale the fence of his palace to escape the mob. He alleged that the king fell from the fence of his house.

Narrating how his father was killed, Samuel told Transport & Business Express that irate youths from the four communities of Ugwu Leru Autonomous Community mobilised and went straight to his father’s palace after they had been addressed by the Okoli who was said to have influenced the release of some youths arrested for allegedly scooping diesel from a fallen tanker along the Leru axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway. The boys were released at about 10pm, Samuel said.

“Immediately the boys were released, they went home and mobilised other youths of the four communities that make up Leru Autonomous Community and they were addressed by the Transition Committee Chairman and the Supervisory Councillor who left after addressing the youths.

“The youths advanced straight to our palace and murdered my father, the king of Ugwu Leru, His Royal Highness, Iroha O. Nwankwo (Ugwukwu 1 of Ugwu Leru), with clubs and matchets at about 11pm,” Samuel said, in tears.

“When I received the shocking news, I called the Transition Committee Chairman and informed him on phone that the youths he addressed have murdered my father. He asked me whether my father was dead and I answered in the affirmative and he switched off his phone and he has not returned the call till now (about 48 hours after the incident.)

“The Transition Committee Chairman and the Supervisory Councillor know the youths they released and also know what they told them when they addressed them that motivated them to go and murder my father.

“My father had no hand in the arrest of the youths but we gathered that when they Transition Committee Chairman and the Councillor had addressed the youths that they were telling the youths that they heard the rumour that my father was the one that was calling the police and informing the police of the crime they were committing.

“Prior to this time, my father did not have any problem with the community and was not in enmity with anybody but he never ceased from advising the youths against social vices and never subscribed to anything evil. He knew nothing about the arrest of the boys but they were incited against him. I strongly allege that the Transition Committee Chairman and the Supervisory Councillor were the ones that incited the youths against my father because after they had addressed the youths few minutes past 10pm, they went straight to our palace and killed my father by 11pm.”

But in his reaction, Okoli said he got a report that there was trouble involving some boys who were on rampage and had blocked the roads, demanding the release of two of their colleagues arrested by the police in a beer parlour.

He said he invited the Councillor to identify the youths and after they were released they went and told the boys to dismantle the road blocks to allow free flow of traffic and both left for their houses.   

The Transition Committee Chairman vehemently denied ever inciting the youths against the traditional ruler.

He said he was in his house the next morning when he learnt that one Eze was killed by the youths and that he got back to the Supervisory Councillor who informed him that later that night the boys mobilised and advanced to the monarch’s palace, chanting war songs and when the king sensed danger, he attempted to escape but fell from his fence and managed to crawl to his in-laws house where he died.

When told that the son of the monarch said he actually called him to inform him of the death of his father that night, Okoli admitted he received a call around 1:22am that fateful day and because of network problem, he did not hear the caller and the number did not register. He claimed the network was bad and he could not hear the caller.

Photo Caption
Late Eze Iroha