*As police boss dispatch special squad
One middle aged citizen of Nawfia community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state has been declared missing in the wake of a swift invasion of Enugu-Mmimi village of the community by a band of gun-wielding thugs early morning Saturday.
Already the state police Commissioner, Mr Hassan Karma has despatched a special squad led by a Divisional Police Officer in Charge of the area to the scene to keep the peace.
But according to the traditional ruler of Nawfia, HRH Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, a distress call was sent to his palace early in the day by the villagers led by the chairman, Nkemakonam Ngini, that some armed strange men invaded their village around 5am and started shooting sporadically into the air and all the villagers were very scared.
So they quickly despatched message to him, while he in turn raised alarm to the police for help and intervention.
Igwe Nwankwo said he became very worried when the villagers who went to know the mission of the invaders were reported physically attacked as the invaders shot sporadically and in the process some, including Nnamdi Ekwenugwo did not return.
He was presumably killed and evacuated to conceal the crime and evidence, must have been taken captive.
He expressed happiness that the state Police commissioner, Karma who was jolted from his bed acted swiftly by sending his men to the scene.
The monarch who interrogated his citizens further was told that it was discovered that the mercenaries some of who were allegedly been positively identified to be from a neighboring community within same council area (names withheld) stormed Nawfia on the promptings of a popular land speculator in the area.
Igwe Nwankwo admitted that the land in question was part of 32plots of land alleged to be part of the village land given out by some named families including his family in 1961 to the Anglican Church for the establishment of the popular Comprehensive Secondary school, Nawfia.
But incidentally large chunk of the land was recently discovered being sold out in bits and pieces by suspected highly placed persons from the Anglican Diocese of Awka, the owners of the secondary school.
Igwe Nwankwo said that on the realization of the ugly trend, he quickly wrote the supervising Bishop of the Diocese, Dr Chibuzor Ibezim, revoking the rights of the Church over the land and urged them to stay off the land immediately.
He tendered the relevant documents, including some other letters written by other families whose lands were involved, also asking the Church to stop actions forthwith.
Curiously, he confirmed that there was no response from the Church yet, since 2014, despite several reminders.
Instead they discovered that more plots of the land have been sold out to land speculators and trouble shooters who now adopted the use of armed thugs to secure and erect structures on the land.
Efforts to get the reaction of Bishop Ibezim did not yield result as at time of filing the report.
But the Commissioner of Police ordered his men to get on top of the situation to ensure things did not escalate.
Incidentally the armed mercenaries took to their heels when the police team arrived.
From Chuks Collins, Awka