The people of Amansea and their
neighbours in Awka, the Anambra State
capital, were, yesterday, shocked when they
saw bodies floating on the Amansea River
that empties into Anambra River from Agba
Ogwudu River in Enugu State.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that some
people from the communities, who went to
fetch water from the river in the morning,
discovered the bodies floating slowly, with
some wedged on the banks of the river.
The people, it was gathered, after counting
up to 50 bodies, alerted their traditional
ruler, Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo, who
mobilized his cabinet for an emergency
meeting after which the state government
and the state police command were
contacted.
The stench from the decomposing bodies
could be picked from about one kilometer
from the river and the development
attracted many people to the area.
When reporters arrived the scene,
indigenes of the communities bordering
the river were seen in groups discussing
the development, even as they said that
nobody from their various communities
was missing.
Governor Peter Obi, who was away from
the state on official assignment, was
immediately contacted and he directed
members of the state executive council to
move to the spot with a view to finding out
the true situation of things.
At the time of filing this report, most of the
state commissioners and local governmentchairmen from some local government
areas, as well as other top government
officials, were at the scene and posing
questions to the communitiesâ?? leaders to
find out if anybody was missing in their
areas.
The state commissioner for local
government, Mrs. Azuka Enemuo, who led
the government delegation to the area,
described the development as terrible.
Enemuo said: â??Since our arrival, we have
counted about 14 dead bodies floating on
this river and we may not have seen the
last.
We were duly informed by the security
agencies and we believe they will carry out
investigations to tell us actually what
transpired.
â??We have already contacted ourneighboring Enugu State government to
find out if the bodies came from that state.
The state government must get to the root
of this matter.â??
Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo said, apart from
the mystery posed by the floating bodies,
the worry of his people was that their main
source of water supply may have been
polluted.
According to him, the river is the only
source of water for the five communities of
Amansea, Ebenebe, Ugbenu, Ugbene and
Oba-Ofemili and the development had
caused a lot of discomfort to his people.
Anambra State police command, through its
spokesman, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, told
reporters that the police would carry out a
thorough investigation with a view tounraveling the mystery behind the floating
bodies.
Meanwhile, Enugu State Police
Commissioner, Mr. Musa Daura, said his
command would probe the mystery
surrounding the bodies.
The commissioner, who visited the scene,
yesterday, said he would join hands with
his Anambra State counterpart to
investigate the source of the corpses.
According to him, the avalanche of dead
bodies remained a mystery because he had
not heard of any communal clash whether
in Enugu or Anambra where many people
were killed.
neighbours in Awka, the Anambra State
capital, were, yesterday, shocked when they
saw bodies floating on the Amansea River
that empties into Anambra River from Agba
Ogwudu River in Enugu State.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that some
people from the communities, who went to
fetch water from the river in the morning,
discovered the bodies floating slowly, with
some wedged on the banks of the river.
The people, it was gathered, after counting
up to 50 bodies, alerted their traditional
ruler, Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo, who
mobilized his cabinet for an emergency
meeting after which the state government
and the state police command were
contacted.
The stench from the decomposing bodies
could be picked from about one kilometer
from the river and the development
attracted many people to the area.
When reporters arrived the scene,
indigenes of the communities bordering
the river were seen in groups discussing
the development, even as they said that
nobody from their various communities
was missing.
Governor Peter Obi, who was away from
the state on official assignment, was
immediately contacted and he directed
members of the state executive council to
move to the spot with a view to finding out
the true situation of things.
At the time of filing this report, most of the
state commissioners and local governmentchairmen from some local government
areas, as well as other top government
officials, were at the scene and posing
questions to the communitiesâ?? leaders to
find out if anybody was missing in their
areas.
The state commissioner for local
government, Mrs. Azuka Enemuo, who led
the government delegation to the area,
described the development as terrible.
Enemuo said: â??Since our arrival, we have
counted about 14 dead bodies floating on
this river and we may not have seen the
last.
We were duly informed by the security
agencies and we believe they will carry out
investigations to tell us actually what
transpired.
â??We have already contacted ourneighboring Enugu State government to
find out if the bodies came from that state.
The state government must get to the root
of this matter.â??
Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo said, apart from
the mystery posed by the floating bodies,
the worry of his people was that their main
source of water supply may have been
polluted.
According to him, the river is the only
source of water for the five communities of
Amansea, Ebenebe, Ugbenu, Ugbene and
Oba-Ofemili and the development had
caused a lot of discomfort to his people.
Anambra State police command, through its
spokesman, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, told
reporters that the police would carry out a
thorough investigation with a view tounraveling the mystery behind the floating
bodies.
Meanwhile, Enugu State Police
Commissioner, Mr. Musa Daura, said his
command would probe the mystery
surrounding the bodies.
The commissioner, who visited the scene,
yesterday, said he would join hands with
his Anambra State counterpart to
investigate the source of the corpses.
According to him, the avalanche of dead
bodies remained a mystery because he had
not heard of any communal clash whether
in Enugu or Anambra where many people
were killed.
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