...They battered me and vandalised my vehicle, says victim

Family battles monarch's sons over Easter attack
An uneasy air pervades Isingwa Autonomous Community in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State. The Anaba family is at daggers’ drawn with a royal house in the community over an alleged attack on a member of the family, Mr. Amanna Anaba, on April 7.

 The attack, it was gathered, was carried out by people suspected to be children of a traditional ruler in the area. However, men of the 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Ohafia are now trying to unravel the mystery behind the attack.
 According to members of the Anaba family, the incident was an armed robbery attack, but the other party said it was a mere fight between two brothers, insisting that one of the parties was only trying to misinform the Nigerian Army.

 Some members of the community, however, said the attack might have been one of several failed attempts to reinstate a top local government official that was suspended, following the purported humiliation of the state governor at the burial of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
 Amanna, who resides in Port Harcourt, had come from his base to celebrate Easter with other members of the family, including his elder brother, Tochukwu Anaba, who is a lawyer, and some other friends.

 Amanna said he had no premonition of evil when he decided to have some drinks with his brother and friends at the White House, a popular bar at the Amapu Ntigha community. Daily Sun learnt that trouble started when Amanna and the rest were leaving the bar. Amanna drove Tochukwu’s 2006 Volkswagen Passat car because his elder brother had decided to ride with another relative. He drove behind the car boarded by his brother.

 As they drove out of the White House premises, they allegedly noticed three vehicles parked at a distance. The occupants of the cars, it was learnt, were armed with guns, machetes and bottles. Sensing danger, Amanna and the other car sped off. However, the three cars reportedly accosted Amanna at the Orie Ntigha Market as he could not catch up with the other car. Amanna, it was learnt, reversed the car from Ntigha to the White House before the suspected pursuers eventually caught up with him.

 According to eyewitnesses, the pursuers ordered Amanna out of the car at gunpoint and collected the car key from him. He was allegedly walloped thoroughly when the attackers attempted to drive the car but couldn’t because of some in-built security features in the vehicle. Nevertheless, they allegedly vandalised the car before they jumped inside their own cars and left the scene. Amanna, it was learnt, was writhing in pains before a kind-hearted man saw him and called his brother.
 Tochukwu told journalists: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him, lying in a pool of his blood and my car was also damaged. People around, who saw the attackers told me who they were and the cars they brought for the operation: a red Volkswagen Jetta, a dark Acura MDX SUV and a black Toyota Camry.

 “I got even more confused because I know my brother has no business with them. I see no reason they attacked him because we are not even involved in their local politics because we are all busy people.“I ran into a police post which is right opposite the scene of the attack and the police officers on duty who actually witnessed the incident declined to give me a report to take my brother to the hospital. I also informed them where I learnt the attackers were hiding but they refused to go with me. “In fact, they intimated me that in the history of the community, no policeman had been able to carry out an arrest in the hideout of the perpetrators.

 “When the police couldn’t provide the report to take him to a hospital, I contacted one of our friends, who is a doctor at the General Hospital, Aba, and he asked us to bring him over. A former top council official who was with me provided his car and we all drove my brother to the hospital where he was treated. I can’t really tell whether those that attacked my brother had thought that it was me simply because my friends are politicians, who are not under their grip or they did that with the aim of stealing my car.”

 At the hospital, Amanna also recounted his ordeal: “They got angry when they couldn’t drive the car and they started beating me. I was able to recognise one of them (names withheld by us) when the hostility started. He was the one, who was hitting me with the butt of his gun and others, were busy vandalizing my brother’s new car.

 “While this was going on, I was lying in the pool of my blood on the ground and was screaming for help. I don’t know the level of damage they inflicted on the car but when they were done, one of them, who also had a gun came and shouted, ‘shoot him!’ But the first man replied that people were watching and everyone would know that he killed me. Then, they continued hitting me with their gun and they stabbed me with broken bottles and I passed out. After regaining consciousness, I found myself in the hospital.”

 Investigation revealed that some concerned members of the community contacted men of the Nigerian Army 14 Brigade, Ohafia, who are currently providing internal security in Abia. The soldiers responded swiftly to the distress call. They stormed the traditional ruler’s palace in search of the people, who carried out the attack but could not make any arrest.
 The following day, one of those mentioned in the incident, a former officer in the state House of Assembly, went to the military base with a view to exonerating himself. He was allegedly interrogated by the soldiers and asked to provide names of all the people that took part in the attack. This led to the arrest of the prime suspect as well as one of Amanna’s cousins.
 But the ex-lawmaker has denied that the incident was a robbery attack, insisting that what happened was an ordinary fight between brothers.

 He told reporters: “This matter has a legal dimension and I would not want to disclose the actions that have been taken so far. I don’t know the source of your information at the moment but it is clear that armed robbery is done when guns and knives are used to dispossess people of their valuables. It is not when two groups of young men are fighting and one of them seized the opportunity in misinforming the army and the army acted on their information.

 “That is the much I can tell you. The rest is left for you to investigate and ascertain the truth of the matter. And on the activities of my brothers, you can visit the State Security Service (SSS) and the police in that area and ascertain the truth.”
 The Army Director of Public Relations, 14 Brigade, Ohafia, Lt. Olabisi Ayeni, confirmed that some arrests had been made, adding that investigation was ongoing. But spokesman of the Abia State Police Command, Geff Ogbonna, said he was not aware of the incident.

 Ayeni said: “The Brigade got a report on the 7th of April, 2012, and the Brigade General ordered an arrest of the culprits and some of them were arrested. As I speak with you now, investigation into the matter is ongoing. Operatives of the Military Intelligence have been sent to the scene to ascertain the truth.”