Landlord’s Chairman Attacked

Chief Nzenagu Umezugha, alias Ikegburugburu, has revealed that hoodlums, led by one of the landlords in the community (names withheld), attacked Chairman of Harmony Landlords on his way from church.

Umezugha said: “Early this year, I was elected chairman of the resident association. Sometime this year, the association took a unanimous decision to clear and make the only access road on Victor Okpana Street in the community motorable.”

He said trouble started when the landlord in question, who initially supported the idea, converted the road into a farmland.

It was learned that the community task force told him to stop farming on an access road that was approved by Ojo Local Government, but that he refused and subsequently dug a gully in the access road, which he claimed as his land, thereby blocking the road from vehicular movements.

Angered by the development, officials of the task force were said to have, on July 18, uprooted the crops planted on the road to make way for vehicles.

The 72-year-old Umezugha, indigene of Ezinifite in Aguata, Anambra State, told Vanguard: “On that Sunday morning, at about 8a.m., I was coming back from church with my family when I was attacked by hoodlums, led by the landlord.

“The hoodlums, armed with dangerous objects, attacked me and my wife and made away with our valuables, jewellery, phones and N36,000 cash.

“They also damaged my vehicle. While I was protecting my wife, the hoodlums used broken bottles to cut my face. They hit me several times with a two-by-two plank till I became unconscious.

“But for my children, they would have lynched me. My children carried me to the police station to report the case, before taking me to the hospital— Era Medical Centre.

“From there, the doctors referred me to Badagry General Hospital, where I was admitted. X-rays that were carried out showed that one of my ribs was fractured.”

Umezugha wondered how a sane person could farm on a street approved by the local government council and called on the appropriate authorities to intervene.

Efforts made to reach the landlord in question proved futile as several calls put through his mobile phone went unanswered.