This is coming on the heels of reported abduction of a middle aged man, a native of Nawfia community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The presiding traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo had raised the alarm to state police Commissioner, Mr Hassan Karma.
Mr. Karma had despatched a special squad led by a Divisional Police Officer in Charge of the area to the scene to keep the peace.
The invaders were reportedly said to have regrouped and reinforced after the police squad had come and gone
They were however said to have beat a retreat on seeing that the villagers were alert who raised alarm on seeing them, thereby attracting undue attention from passers bye.
But the monarch ensured quick intervention haven held an emergency meeting of the leaders of thought of the relevant village.
He urged round-the-clock vigilance, and to stay away from any form of confrontation but asked them to alert him and the police
Narrating the weekend experience, Igwe Nwankw said a distress call was sent to his palace early Saturday morning by the village chairman, Nkemakonam Ngini.
He said 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.
The monarch said he became very worried when the villagers who went to know the mission of the invaders were reported physically attacked.
The invaders had 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, or 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 stormed Nawfia on the promptings of a popular land speculator in the area.
Some of them were have been positively identified to be from a neighboring community within same council area (names withheld).
Igwe Nwankwo admitted that the land in question was part of 32 plots 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.
It was for the establishment of the popular Comprehensive Secondary school, Nawfia.
Incidentally, though, large chunk of the land was recently discovered to have been 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 he quickly wrote the supervising Bishop of the Diocese, Dr Chibuzor Ibezim, on the realization of the ugly trend.
He revoked 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 earlier arrived the scene but later regrouped and were repelled by the villagers.
From Chuks Collins, Awka
