Akalites count losses after terror attacks.
2 min read
Citizens of Umuaka town in Njaba LGA are still experiencing permanent shocks and surprises following the unmitigated terror attacks that rocked the community on Sunday 15 September 2024. During the horrifying incident, armed men were said to have stormed the community in three vehicles but while entering the town, they had a confrontation with the policemen on duty.
The confrontation which lasted for over 25 minutes of non-stop shootout between the police and the armed men left three men dead. According to TVC News of September 15, 2024, the day of the tragic incident, “Police in Imo State have neutralized some gunmen in a gun duel, trying to burn down Umuaka Police Station in Njaba Local Government Area.”
As Fela would say, “several minutes later”, it was discovered that Mr Charles Igwebuike, an Obeakpu born lab scientist who is based in Owerri lost his life in the inferno as a victim of circumstance. There was also another victim of circumstance who sustained heavy gunshot injuries after he was attacked in Amiyi. The man whose identity could not be established was said to be a soldier who suddenly ran into the gunmen on their route of escape just like the late Mr Charles Igwebuike did. Several reports Umuaka Times monitored over the internet last week showed that Igwebuike died as a result of the non-functionality of Umuaka Community Hospital. The stories had it that a hospital near Eke Ibele market where Igwebuike was shot, could not attend to him for some reasons. Another hospital in Umuaka where he was taken to after he had lost plenty blood was said to have locked its gate due to the fear of the attacks. Umuaka Times was yet to establish the true stories behind the above claims before press time.
Akalites who expressed their reservations and concerns last week lamented that if Umuaka Community Hospital was in functional state, it could have saved the late Charles Igwebuike. The issue of dilapidated Umuaka Community Hospital has been on the front burner of social controversies in Umuaka over the state of the hospital and her ownership in the last couple of years; since the creation of autonomous communities in Umuaka, the issue of assets sharing has always been a very sensitive one where answers are yet to arrive at several discussion tables across Umuaka Ebeiri.
The new ownership of Umuaka Community Hospital has been one of the biggest headaches in the entire Umuaka as the issue is yet to be resolved properly. Consequently, several Akalites have so far lost their lives as a result of the controversies.
Not less than a 100 Akalites have so far appealed to the stakeholders to jettison all differences and amicably resolve the issue of the ownership of the hospital and save the lives of their fellow Akalites by bringing the hospital back to economic and medical vibrancy.
