Anambra govt welcomes raid
From Godwin Ijediogor, Chuks Collins (Awka), John-Abba Ogbodo (Abuja) and Lawrence Njoku (Enugu)
SUSPECTS arrested in connection with the Ogwugwu shrine in Okija, Anambra State, have been taken to Abuja along with the exhibits recovered during the police raid.
The move is in fulfilment of a pledge by the Force to speedily investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book.
The Guardian gathered at the Force Headquarters in Abuja yesterday that the suspects arrived in handcuffs, escorted by heavily armed mobile policemen.
They are being detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) headquarters in Area 10, Garki, Abuja.
The development came as the state government welcomed the raids and destruction of the shrines, which it described as the "last vestiges of bad governance."
Barely 24 hours after their arrival in Awka, a special squad despatched by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) from Force Headquarters, Abuja, to take over further investigations into the shrines, took the suspects to the Federal Capital yesterday.
The crack team, which arrived in the early hours of Wednesday led by a Commissioner from the IGP's office, was received on arrival by Anambra State Police Commissioner, Felix Ogbaudu, in his office.
The team comprised officers from special units such as lawyers, doctors, psychologists and anthropologists. They looked tired and sleepy, having apparently driven all through Tuesday and Wednesday night in three trucks that brought some of them while those of senior ranks came in cars and other vehicles. They were about 200.
After a few hours of rest, they were briefed by Ogbaudu and later taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit which had been handling the case.
There, they saw the suspects and some of the gory looking exhibits which included human skulls, (about 20) four of them fresh, a casket bearing the body of a middle-aged man dressed in a sports jacket and a pair of faded blue jeans trousers. The body, which appeared fresh, may have been subjected to some forms of local embalment. The police team, The Guardian learnt, also left with some of the suspects especially those considered as the ring leaders and priests.
Also taken away were those who have been forthcoming with coherent information regarding their activities at the shrines as well as their 10 operational registers, which were confiscated during the raid on Wednesday last week.
Other items taken away were pictures, the various certificates of registration purportedly issued to the Ogwugwu priests by the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja and other documents including receipts with which the suspects have been renewing their operational licence from the Department of Herbal Medicine Operations, Ministry of Health Awka. Some of the officers stayed back.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) and SARS refused to comment on the latest development.
The Government of Anambra State also reacted yesterday to various media reports and insinuations regarding the raids and arrest of the` chief priest and others.
It said that following the interim report on the matter by the State Commissioner of Police and other security agencies, it fully supports the raids and the destruction of the shrines.
"Government wishes to further reiterate, in the interest of the public, that the raids, the subsequent destruction and removal of the shrines, represented the removal of the last vestiges of the bad governance and inglorious era in the state," according to a statement by Mr. Fred Chukwulobe, Senior Special Assitant to Governor Chris Ngige on Media and Publicity.
"We also know that for some people, it represents a loss of one of their veritable tools of fraud, 419, and their unrepentant manipulation of fainthearted and ignorant members of the various communities in Anambra State and Igboland in general as can be evidenced by the tango between a member of the House of Representatives and the late Chief Victor Okafor, alias Ezego in 1997", the statement said.
It added: "For people like the erstwhile boss of the defunct Bakassi Boys, and his co-travellers, it also represents a big loss as the arrested Chief Priest and the shrine represent the last hope of their foothold to foment trouble in the state and for Governor Chris Ngige.
"The Government of Anambra State sees the development as a good riddance to bad rubbish and at the appropriate time, Government will come out with a proposal for the acquisition of the said large expanse of forestland which the shrines had occupied for various Government projects."
The statement said Anambra people know who the real patrons of the shrine are and accused them of "diverting attention with the hope of escaping the doomsday, which surely awaits them."
Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Col. Joe Achuzia (rtd) has reiterated his earlier stand on the raid, saying that the measure should not be used to tarnish the image of the Igbo.
He spoke in a telephone interview just as former Chairman of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Alex Nwokedi, justified the raid and lashed out at prominent Nigerians who patronise the shrines.
Achuzia who was reacting to an unsigned statement allegedly issued by the socio-cultural organisation disowning his earlier position on the matter, said that he maintained his stance on the issue that Igbos should not be singled out for castigation over the presence or worship of shrines at Okija.
He claimed that the handling of the raid had portrayed the entire Igbo race as cannibals and idol worshippers, stressing that there are similar shrines all over Nigeria and all of them should be given similar treatment by the Police.
"I am not defending whatever the chief priests and the worshippers did but people should not say it is peculiar to Ndigbo," he said.
The secretary-general stated that his position on the matter was being twisted and misinterpreted by those who did not really understand the issue, adding that he never supported idol worshipping in any form.
But he declined comments on the reports that Ohanaeze disowned his position on the raid, saying: "I am not interested: all I have said is that this thing should not be made an Igbo issue, there should be a limit to everything."
Igwe Nwokedi who is the traditional ruler of Achalla Community in Anambra State, blamed prominent Nigerians for the prevalence of idolatry in the country, saying that if such people do not patronise the shrines, the operators would not engage in such practices.
He challenged the IGP to release names of prominent Nigerians who associated with the Okija shrines, stating that the measure would help to stop people from engaging in such practices.
He said: "You don't blame the priest or the worshippers of the shrine. We should blame the elite, the educated and prominent people amongst us who go there. Are we not ashamed of ourselves
