No fewer than 100 elderly women from Agubia community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State yesterday took to the streets half-naked to protest the arrest of nine of their sons by security agencies and burning of houses in the community.
It would be recalled that there was crisis in Agubia, which resulted in the killing of one Chinedu Nwali and the destruction of property worth millions of naira.
The women, aged between 80 and 100, were said to have trekked from the village to the Government House in Abakaliki.
At the gate, the women lamented that they couldn’t hold it any longer as two of their sons were again arrested at the weekend during a wedding ceremony in Abakaliki.
Three weeks ago, a bloody clash erupted between two rival groups on who would control Agubia motor park. The clash claimed the life of one Chinedu Nwali, and left many others injured, while houses, cars and other valuable property were damaged.
The Agubia park is central to the community and after the clash, all vehicles going in and out of the community stopped operation.
On behalf of the women, Mrs. Mercy Nwali, said that the protest was to demand urgent and amicable resolution of the matter as their lives were in danger.
“What we demand is that all of them should come home so that we can make peace. They shouldn’t be in town here and be terrorizing us in the village. We no longer sleep in our homes and we want the government to intervene”, she said.
They also called for the immediate release of their children who had been in detention.
Mrs. Juliana Nwali, who gave the names of her children arrested as Igwe Nwali, Chikwendu Nwali, and Chineme Nwali, vowed not to leave the gate until they were released to her.
Addressing the women, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, Stanley Okoro Emegha, assured them of the readiness of the government to address all their concerns so that absolute peace would return to the area. However, there was a mild drama during the protest as the protesters refused to enter into a bus provided by the state government to take them home and the money given to them was also rejected. The women insisted that they prefer to trek back to their refuge home since their houses were completely burnt down.