A youth leader identified as Chidebe Ibeakuzie (aka Mighty) has been shot dead by security operatives in a tussle over the ownership and control of a tricycle park near the military cantonment in Onitsha.
Reports indicated that Ibeakuzie, who was reportedly from Obosi community, Idemili North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, and others, including an unspecified number of Keke Operators and passersby, sustained gunshot injuries.
The unrest had started following a heated dispute between the families of late Tochukwu Anyaoku, an Obosi native, and Edward Ibuzo, a former Anambra State House of Assembly member representing Onitsha North 1 Constituency.
The late Anyaoku had reportedly leased the tricycle park prior to his death last year, and his wife took over its management afterward. However, Ibuzo allegedly claimed ownership of the land, leading to a bitter standoff. The youths of Obosi accused Ibuzo of orchestrating an attack by hiring operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS), who they allege were responsible for the fatal shooting of Mighty.
Ibuzo had denied any involvement, stating via a WhatsApp call to journalists that he was in Germany at the time of the incident, while he also has a court judgement authorizing him to take over the park.
He alleged that DSS operatives had intervened after witnessing a suspected kidnapping, which led to an exchange of gunfire.
A prominent Obosi stakeholder, Omezie Chukwurah, also known as “Governor Obosi,” lamented the escalating violence, revealing that previous police interventions had led to another Obosi youth being shot in the head.
He further alleged that the operatives who killed Mighty arrived in vehicles linked to Ibuzo.