Tension is mounting in Rumuodomaya Community, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, as angry residents stormed the council secretariat and police station, calling for immediate government and police intervention against Mr. Stephen Nlemachi, whom they accused of parading himself as a traditional ruler.
Carrying placards and dressed in black attire, women and youths, accompanied by chiefs and elders, marched through the community on Wednesday, taking their grievances first to the premises of the embattled Nlemachi.
The protesters accused him of impersonating His Royal Highness, Eze Bright Akpunonu, and engaging in alleged land grabbing activities, particularly around the Omachi Estate area.
Addressing journalists during the protest, the Community Development Committee Chairman, Chief Ariziruoke Eberendu, said complaints about Nlemachi’s activities and those of his alleged cohorts had become unbearable.
“We have received too many reports of his nefarious activities. We are calling on the Rivers State Government and the Nigeria Police Force to act swiftly before the situation degenerates into a breakdown of law and order,” Eberendu stated.
The Vice Chairman of the Rumuodomaya Community Chiefs and Elders Council, Chief Emmanuel Mbata, and the Chairman of Adepe-Nu-Zubia Youth Forum, Comrade Frank Worlu, echoed similar sentiments, claiming residents now live in fear as Nlemachi allegedly acts as if he is above the law.
In a particularly disturbing revelation, a resident of Omachi Estate, Mrs. Gift Effiong, narrated how her 16-year-old child was allegedly sodomised by a relative of Nlemachi.
She said she had already reported the matter at the Rumuodomaya Divisional Police Headquarters and appealed to authorities to protect other children from similar abuse.
The protesters later proceeded to the Obio/Akpor Council Secretariat, where they were received by the Council’s Environmental Sanitation Committee Chairman, Mr. Chijioke Akaniwo. He assured them that the Council Chairman, Dr. Gift Worlu, would give their complaints the necessary attention.
At the Rumuodomaya Special Area Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Chukwuma Emmanuel, urged the protesters to remain calm and avoid any form of violence, promising that their grievances would be properly addressed.
