SaharaReporters gathered that Nnadi was attacked by hoodlums and his two bedroom house built for him by the Ezemagu family was demolished.
The suspended traditional ruler of Ihekwuenu autonomous community in Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Christopher Okwor and the Ezemagu family of the Community have clashed over the demolition of the house of a 67-year-old visually impaired man in the community, house, Mr Anibeze Nnadi from Awoke-Agana family.
SaharaReporters gathered that Nnadi was attacked by hoodlums and his two bedroom house built for him by the Ezemagu family was demolished.
Nnadi had accused the son of the suspended traditional ruler, Prince Uzochukwu Okwor, of being responsible for the attack and demolition of his house.
Wondering why he could have been attacked and his only house demolished when he doesn't have issues with anyone, Nnadi said, “I am not quarreling with anybody but they frequently attack me.
“I was in my house when I heard gunshots but before I knew it, they started beating me, dragged me outside and demolished my house.
“This is the sixth time they are demolishing my house that good Samaritans built for me. The land they built on belongs to me.”
It was gathered that Igwe Christopher Okwor, was suspended in September 2021 by the Enugu State Government for allegedly demolishing a two bedroom house belonging to Nnadi, which was built for him by the Ezemagu family, over a land dispute.
Reacting to the attack and demolition of Nnadi’s house demolition, the oldest man in Ezemagu family, Chief Daniel Ezemagu, said that the perpetrators carried out the act because the blind man had nobody to speak for him.
Ezemagu said, “We could not resist the attack because they came with guns and other weapons and were shooting everywhere.”
He described the incident as painful, stressing that they were suspecting the monarch’s son to have perpetrated the attack and demolition.
But the traditional ruler’s son, Prince Ugonna Okwor, denied the allegation, saying that no member of the royal family had been attacking anybody in the community.
Ugonna described all the allegations as untrue and a ploy by Nnamdi Ezemagu, a brother to Daniel Ezemagu, to tarnish the image of the royal family.
He said that there are several pending cases in court, adding, “they destroyed the building themselves and ran to the media to seek sympathy.
“They have seen that my father is about to be reinstated by the Enugu State Government and came up with the demolition allegations.
“We agreed that everybody should build their own and that nobody should touch one another’s buildings but they continue building and demolishing and run to police to intimidate my younger brother.
“There is no blind man's connection to the ownership of the land in suits in court. Nnadi had a house which they say was inhabitable for him.
“Why can’t they build in his old house they demolished but prefer going to the land that is in contention to build for him?”
However, Nnamdi Ezemagu described allegations by Igwe Okwor’s as false and a calculated attempt to divert the attention of the public from the criminal activity of his brothers and their gang.
He said that one Kenechukwu Ani was arrested and confessed to the crime of demolishing Nnadi’s house in 2021 through the connection of Uzochukwu Okwor and his father, the suspended traditional ruler.
In his reaction, Igwe Okwor dismissed allegations by the Ezemagu family, saying that the renewed campaign against him was orchestrated by Nnamdi Ezemagu as a ploy to wrestle the disputed piece of land from him.
The monarch added that the Nnamdi Ezemagu frequently stirs public sentiment whenever the case which is pending in court is not in his favor.
According to the monarch, the Ezemagu family had in the past vowed to dethrone him and they are throwing in everything within their reach to achieve their objective because their father, Chief Emmanuel Ezemagu, lost the Igweship contest to him.
Also speaking on the matter, the monarch’s son, Chris Okwor, said, "In 2021, a long-standing land dispute led to threats against my father from Nnamdi Ezemagu. After Emmanuel Ezemagu, his uncle lost the Igweship to my father, tensions escalated. Ezemagu began construction near my father's building site, leading to physical altercations and police intervention.
"Nnamdi Ezemagu falsely claimed that he had given land to my father and demanded that my father's building be divided. Despite police orders to cease construction, Ezemagu continued building at night.
"Suddenly, we heard that the building has been pulled down and politicians who are unhappy with my father's integrity used the situation to suspend him from his position, claiming turmoil in the community."
According to him, the Ezemagu family rejected the financial aid provided by the former Local Government Chairman due to political motivations and promises of a House of Assembly slot.
"Their actions were never about the blind man's welfare but about securing the land and looking for situations to cause unrest in the community," he said.
He further said, “The ongoing attempts to raise public sentiment, according to Chris, are because the government is considering reinstating Igwe Okwor. I still recall that after Igwe's suspension, the state government set up a committee to look into the matter, but unfortunately before the government could come up with their findings, the Ezemagu family brought police from Abuja and arrested him. They also went further to vandalise his house.”