PDP, Ekweremadu Condemns Explosion At Ohanaeze President, Nnia Nwodo’s House

Chief Nnia Nwodo

Explosion Rocks Ohanaeze President’s House

The country home of Chief Nnia Nwodo, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, was rocked by explosion yesterday, Sunday, 29th and the explosion was alleged to have been caused by an improvised explosive device.

Naija News gathered that the suspect who threw the explosive into the compound of the building at Ukehe, in the Igboetiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, around 5.30am is yet to be identified.

The ceilings and the air conditioning units in the building were damaged, so also the windows of a building located close to the gate of the compound was destroyed by the explosion.

Report has it that Nwodo was not in the building at the time of explosion, as he spent the night at his residence in Enugu metropolis.

Danmallam Mohammed, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, who led a team of the police Explosive Ordnance Department to investigate the site of the explosion, vowed that the perpetrators of the incident would be apprehended.

Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, Police Public Relations Officer, in a statement released, said Mohammed described those behind the explosion as ‘enemies of progress.’

“Those behind this are enemies of progress and we have to fish them out. We thank God that there is no loss of life or major destruction, we have to be more vigilant and security conscious and be able to partner security agencies to ensure that there is no repeat of such an incident,” the police commissioner said.

Amaraizu, who described the incident as a ‘minor explosion,’ disclosed that preliminary investigations revealed that the perpetrators threw the explosive device into the compound through the fence.

“The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Mohammed, has vowed to unmask those behind the dastardly incident of minor explosion at the Ukehe residence of Chief Nnia Nwodo, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“Background checks revealed that the perpetrator, who did not have access through the entrance gate, might have thrown the object through the fence and it landed on the ground near the windows and exploded and gave some impacts,” Amaraizu said.

He added that the operatives of the Explosive Ordinance Department collected some of the samples from the debris of the explosion for proper analysis and classification.

The police spokesman added that “the area was rendered safe by the EOD operatives,” even as the state commissioner of police had directed the Area Commander to beef up security and surveillance within the axis.

Mohammed wondered why anybody would be after Nwodo’s life, who, he said, was only serving his people. He took time out to plead with the people of the environs to be vigilant, and report any strange activity to security agencies.

Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy President of the Senate, also condemned the explosion of the country home of Nwodo. Ekweremadu reacted to the attack in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu.

He said, “This is a dastardly act. It is certainly ugly, evil and outrageous. I roundly condemn it. This is quite an unusual development in the South-East and we will not accept it.

“I call on the security agencies to get to the root of this devilish act and ensure that the culprits and masterminds are brought to book immediately.”

A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emeka Atama, said Nwodo was surprised that some unknown people were after his life.

The statement added that Nwodo vowed that the attack would not deter him from continuing to lead Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The traditional ruler of Umudele community, in Ukehe, Igwe Lawrence Aroh, thanked God for saving Nwodo’s life.

Aroh assured the police commissioner that the people of the community would be extra-vigilant in order to prevent future attacks.

Mrs. E. A. Likiyon, the Director of the Department for State Services in Enugu State, also visited the scene of the incident on Sunday.

The Sunday explosion came on the heels of media attacks launched against Nwodo by a faction of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing, the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Indigenous People of Biafra.

The Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro-led OYC recently announced the ‘suspension’ of Nwodo, after passing a vote of no confidence in him.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, and the party have also condemned the bombing of Nwodo’s house.

Secondus told news correspondents in Abuja on Sunday, that he wasn’t impressed by the way security situation is been handled in the country.

He said, “…Maybe the man was targeted because he was among the leaders who met in Abuja last week and criticised the President and the Federal Government for the way they are handling the issue of herdsmen and others in the county.

“Nwodo is a man of peace and cannot even hurt a fly. Why would someone like that be targeted for evil? Nigerians should rise up and condemn the action and also ask the international community to take proper note of happenings in the county.”

Secondus also called on the heads of security agencies in the country to be alive to their constitutional responsibilities. Also, the PDP has described the action of the arsonists as callous, horrendous and wicked.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja on Sunday, asked security agencies to unravel the identities of the masked characters behind the dastardly act.