A commercial motorcyclist from Obuoro community in Ikwuano LGA of Abia State, Mr.

Okezie was attacked on March 7 and died at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia on March 10, 2025, one month after he was allegedly banished by some members of his community because of the land sharing formula.

During the attack, one of the ears of the victim was allegedly cut off, while his commercial motorcycle, mobile phone, and the money he realized from his transport business on March 7 were also allegedly stolen by the unknown attackers.

Speaking to journalists on Friday at the Police Area Command in Umuahia, where the murder case was reported, the widow of the late Okezie Onyema Onyendu, Mrs Ogechi Okezie, alleged that some villagers of Obuoro conspired and banished his husband from the community because he refused to surrender his lands to a distant relative.

“They arrested my husband and banished him from Obuoro Ibere in February 2024. I took him to my own village in Itunta, but they still came there and told us to leave that place.

“My husband sued them to a court, and the High Court was supposed to sit on March 12, but my husband disappeared on March 7 only for his unconscious body to be discovered with an ear cut off,” she disclosed.

She further alleged that a chief in the Obuoro Ibere community and some other persons had threatened to deal with her late husband, adding that those who killed her husband were also threatening to eliminate her to cover up the case.

When contacted on Friday, the Police Public Relations Officer of Abia State Police Command, DSP Maureen Chinaka, confirmed that the case had been reported at the Police Area Command, Umuahia, explaining that investigations had commenced.