Iweka blamed the inaction of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Nigerian police and other security agencies for the assassination.
The traditional ruler of Obosi community in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, has decried the gruesome murder of his President General, Mr Ikechukwu Okolo, by suspected cultists.
Iweka blamed the inaction of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Nigerian police and other security agencies for the assassination.
SaharaReporters had reported that Okolo was assassinated on January 2, 2023 by a cult group over an alleged arrest of their leader which police later released and refused to prosecute for close to one year.
The monarch, who lamented the killing of the president-general in a video interview seen by SaharaReporters on Friday, said that his cabinet had on several occasions reported to Governor Chukwuma Soludo the activities of cult groups who had claimed several lives.
Confirming that the killing of the Chief Okolo was due to cult activities within the community, the traditional ruler disclosed that his killing was connected to his commitment to eradicate cultism from the community.
He said "They (cultists) have murdered several indigenes of the town including non-cultists in the war that is apparently raging between the cult groups. Many innocent, non-cultists like our President General, Chief Okolo, have become victims of collateral damage. He was pointedly murdered for whatever reasons - because of his efforts to curb cultism, drug abuse, drug dealings and all sorts of vices in the community.
"On account of this, he was threatened several times which he reported to my cabinet and unfortunately on the 2nd of January, 2023 he was gunned down in cold blood.”
"We the people of Obosi kingdom have previously reached out to the Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and its anti-cult unit; even the army and these law enforcement agencies that I mentioned including the governor of Anambra State have been intimated by my cabinet of the activities of these terrible cultists but they did nothing until my PG was now killed," he further lamented.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters reliably gathered that the police had not arrested any of the assailants of the president general as at December 6, 2023.
However, SaharaReporters efforts to get reaction of the state police command were unsuccessful as the Command's spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, didn't answer his calls.