A
77-year-old woman, Elder Mrs. Grace Orizu was roasted alive on Saturday
afternoon when her son’s five-room bungalow at Little Wood Estate, Obosi in
Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state was allegedly set ablaze
by suspected arsonists.
Her nine year old house help, Progress N w a c h u k w u , miraculously
escaped death as neighbours who thronged the scene managed to rescue him alive
from the kitchen where he had hidden as the fire rages.
The incident occurred when the arsonists believed to be after the life
of her second son, Emeka Orizu who was recently elected as chairman of Little
Wood Estate, Obosi, allegedly sneaked into the compound at about 3p.m., quietly
sprinkled some liquid substances suspected to be Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) all
over the building, including its roof top and ignited the fire on it.
When the traditional ruler of Obosi, Igwe Chidubem Iweka visited the
scene yesterday, it was discovered that not even a pin was recovered from the
bungalow as both the zink, window louvres and all the household items were
consumed by the inferno.
Narrating the incident to Igwe Iweka, Orizu said he left the house at
about 2 p.m. for Ihiala on a condolence visit to his in-laws only to be called
on phone by his wife at about 3.30 p.m. to inform him that somebody told her
that their house was on fire.
Orizu further told the monarch that he noticed some clandestine
movements by some undesirable elements around the house before he left for the
condolence visit. He said he had already lodged a complaint at the Obosi Police
Station where he even mentioned names of those he suspected to have set the
house on fire.
He said the same persons who are opposing the Igwe are also after him
because shortly after he won an election as chairman of Little Wood Estate,
Obosi, he fired a warning signal to all the cultists and illicit drug peddlers
residing at the Estate to relocate or he would expose them, as he was not ready
to harbour them in the estate.
He also noted that the opposition approached him and requested that he
should lead their boys to the bush to drive away Igwe’s land committee members
and take over the control of the lands but he refused on the ground that the
Igwe is the custodian of all the lands in Obosi and that he would support the
traditional ruler’s fight against cultism, drug trafficking and other forms of
criminalities in the area.
He disclosed that following his resolve to sustain the war against drug
trafficking, the same arsonists who are working for some influential persons
opposing the Igwe, launched their first attack on him on June 25, 2015 when
they shot at him during a wake-keep, but he escaped death. He noted that, on
the second occasion, they attacked him again with axe on July 26, 2015 and on
November 1, they trailed him after a thanksgiving ceremony but he escaped for
the third time. According to him, they now decided to set his house ablaze last
Saturday, December 12 because he had been out of town.
Responding, Igwe Iweka described the incident as a dastardly act and
called on the state government and law enforcement agencies to investigate the
matter with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
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