BY BETI ONU AWKA
BARELY three weeks after anguish and helplessness drove residents of Lilu community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State to the Awka Light House to lodge complaints over what they described as four years of abandonment to insurgents, the community has cried out again.
At the time, the residents had questioned whether Lilu was still part of Anambra State or had been excised and ceded to neighbouring Imo State.
Speaking to journalists, a community spokesperson who identified himself simply as Emeka (for security reasons) said that since their visit to the Government House—where they were received by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Solo Chukwulobelu—there had been no response or concrete action from the state government.
According to him, the situation has rather worsened.
“It is heartbreaking to say that gunmen continue to saunter into Lilu community day and night, harassing us at will,” he said.
He disclosed that a few days ago, the assailants attacked again, killing Mr. ChinezeNwaka with an axe. They also abducted Chief Oliver Umeaku, a palace chief, while several others remain missing and unaccounted for.
Emeka said the hoodlums told residents that the attack was their “Christmas gift.” He described the scene as horrific, noting that Mr. Nwaka was brutally killed in the presence of his aged parents.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Emeka asked when Governor ChukwumaSoludo would step in decisively to arrest the deteriorating security situation in Lilu. He wondered why the Anambra State Government appeared uninterested in rescuing the community from persistent attacks.
While taking reporters around the area, Emeka—accompanied by youths and members of a local security outfit recently formed by the community—showed the remains of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, its parsonage, and several burnt vehicles belonging to the Reverend Canon Gabriel Obiesie. He recalled that the cleric’s wife and children were brutally killed and their bodies set ablaze during an earlier attack.
The cleric, he said, narrowly escaped with severe machete injuries and bullet wounds and is currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.
He also showed journalists the ruins of the palace of the traditional ruler, HRH Igwe (Barrister) Godson Onyediri, which was similarly razed.
Emeka recalled that during their visit to Awka, the SSG had promised to brief Governor Soludo on their grievances, as contained in the numerous placards collected from the protesters.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the State Commissioner for Information proved unsuccessful, as no response had been received nearly six hours after inquiries were made before the filing of this report.
Emeka expressed doubt as to whether the governor even knew the location of Lilu on the map of Anambra State.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP TochukwuIkenga, said investigations into the Lilu attacks were ongoing.
However, the community spokesperson dismissed the assurance as mere “playing to the gallery,” insisting that no agent of the local government, state, or federal government had visited the embattled community since 2019, when the violence reportedly began. He concluded by stating that the community was now ready to approach anyone willing to assist them.
