A traditional title holder in Nri Community, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Oba Maduka Arubaluezeama, has been shot dead.
A source in the community told journalists that Arubaluezeama, who is popularly known by his title name, Oba Muozuluaru, was assassinated on Tuesday night at a building site where he went to supervise work on his ongoing project.
The community is currently pervaded by tension, especially as it is suspected that his killing may have to do with the current tussle in the community over who becomes the next traditional ruler.
The community’s traditional stool has been vacant for about eight years now, after the death of its traditional ruler, Eze Obidiegwu Onyeso.
Several attempts to crown a new king have not yielded fruit, as some indigenes have been engaged in a bitter battle over who the next king will be.
The source said Arubaluezeama was murdered at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Nise, wondering if his dispute with some other landowners around his property could be the problem or the kingship tussle, in which the deceased had remained vocal.
According to the source, “That estate where Oba Muozuluaru is building his house is also under dispute because there are other multi-millionaires who also purchased their own plots of land there to build their own houses, but most people are pointing their fingers at the controversy around the Nri traditional stool because a gang of suspected cultists had in the past attacked Chief Sunday Alike and inflicted severe machete cuts on him just as he was stepping out from Oba Muozuluaru’s house.
“Just last year too, the commander of Nri Central vigilante, Ogazi, was also assassinated in the evening, and many people are suspecting the controversy around the traditional stool as the cause of the unfortunate happenings.
“Also, members of the Nri Nze-na-Ozor traditional society were said to have been attacked a few years ago while they were holding their meeting at Agbadani village hall, and many fingers were pointed at the traditional stool controversy as the reason for the attack.”
It was gathered that the assassins confronted Arubaluezeama at his building site and ordered him to leave. As he made to enter his car, they shot at him, spilling his brains instantly.
DAILY POST learnt that the entire community has been thrown into mourning because of the popularity of the victim in the area. The source said the community is calling for an extensive investigation by the police.
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, the police spokesperson in Anambra, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, denied knowledge of the incident.
