Delta community boils over murder of anti-cult chief

By Nosa Akenzua

Palpable tension and fear of the unknown have enveloped Kwale Community in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State following the gruesome murder of Anti-cult Commander, Austyne Chinua – Emu by yet unidentified gunmen.

Although there has been speculative link of rival cult war to the Anti-cult Commander’s killing, as a highly placed billionaire in the state (name withheld) who doubles as the leader of the most worrisome cult group in the state was allegedly fingered, but the current situation in Kwale community has continued to portend the fear of the unknown considering the sporadic shootings orchestrated by the loyalists of the Anti-cult Commander allegedly killed in horrendous circumstances Sources within the area said that its residents on Sunday evening scampered to different directions when angry loyalists of the killed Commander, Austyne Chinua Emu took to various streets of Kwale community to unleash a revenge mission through sporadic shootings.

While the shooting lasted, suspected rival cult group allegedly engaged the group in the shootout, though no life was lost in the process. But, the Delta State Police Command in a statement issued and signed by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa confirmed the death of the leader of the civilian Anti-cult Commander Austyne Chinua Emu.

According to the statement, a copy made available to our correspondent in Asaba, Emu was attacked and killed in Kwale community, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State while leaving the premises of former Civil Commissioner in the state, disclosing that it was after meeting with the commissioner whom he visited last Saturday night that the unknown gunmen attacked and killed him as he came out of the Commissioner’s compound.

Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa said that the Command had swung into action and full scale investigation had commenced to unravel the identities of those behind the killing of Commander Austyne Chinua Emu, adding that no arrest had been made as at the time of this report Recall that Austine Chinua Emu was murdered on Saturday night in Kwale community by unknown gunmen, a situation that had triggered an unrest by angry mob in the area who reportedly invaded and touched the residence of the former Commissioner in the Board of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Mr Flenjor Fidelis Okputa.

The action was in reaction to the State Commander of Anti-cult Volunteer Corps, Austine Chinua Emu gruesomely murdered in cold blood by suspected cultists shortly after a meeting with Oputa in Kwale.

But in press statement issued on Monday by Concerned group of persons in the Community, Ndokwa Renaissance Network (NRN), signed by: Dr Mike Akpati, Acting Chairman of the group, and Mr Sony Neme, Acting spokesperson, stated.

“Our heart bleeds on hearing the gruesome killing of one of our illustrious sons on whose shoulders laid the destiny of Nation, Augustin Chinua-Emu, on December 5, 2020 at about 7:30pm that black Saturday.

“As at the time of his death in the hands of his yet to be identified killers, our son, Chinua-Emu was a dependable youth of our land who did all that was humanly possible to promote peace and tranquility in Ndokwa nation, particularly his designated areas of assignment wherein he was the Leader of the AntiCult Corps, but his life was cut short by rampaging demons in human form.”

Describing Chinua-Emu in a heroic and legendary manner, the statement said that he took the war against violent and bloody cultism to the doors of the practitioners of evil in the land, adding that “He did his humanly possible best, he chased the blood thirsty youths away and rendered them toothless until the cowards struck him in soft target and gallantly he died a hero”.

Accordingly, the statement further said,” While we slept, Chinua-Emu was awake, kept close tabs on criminal elements who hide under the cloak of cultism to kill one another in a competitive glare for group rivalry and supremacy in Ndokwaland.

He ensured we were secured without molestation of any kind.

“This development has remained a growing and worrisome trend among youths of Ndokwaland who, rather than develop and grow themselves find occupation in arrant stupidity called cultism; they render themselves , but only useful to those people who use them to achieve only narrow political aims at elections and dump them thereafter even while they had been armed.”

The group noted that the menace of cultism had been steering the people in the face, because of misplacement of values and moral decadence which are badly tinkering with the traditional norms and culture that hitherto distinguish them as a people of honourable heritage, the world over, stressing that, “Our occultic youths are growing in sizes and are becoming unmanageable and therefore, the death of Chinua-Emu should be treated as a wake -up call to us all as a people under God”.

While saying that the founders of cultism in Nigeria were great men and women who passed through their generation making positive impacts, the group said, “We all know Professor Wole Soyinka, who is the first black man to win the Laureate Price in Literature.

He is a pride to his nation. “Also, we know of so many other great men who impacted their societies through groups and they reigned without dropping a blood of fellow man let alone their own brothers.

It stated that, “The rag-tag Ndokwa cultist is stupid, badly uneducated, unexploded, lacking in means of livelihood, not presentable anywhere in the world except in the arena of vulgar jokes, drinking joints where lousy and senseless noise is made, where poverty and insanity is celebrated he has nothing to show for being a cultist other than hiding in the wee hours to commit crimes in his stealthy life, until it is also snuffed away by superior predators.

“The life of an Ndokwa cultist is so miserable that because the generations before him have been badly marginalised by the operators of our political system, he is terribly poor relishing inanity and stupidity but to him, the way out of his dilemma does not include hard work and prayers, but the quick fix for him is to delve into the realms of violent crimes and we must rein them in for us to have peace.

“There’s no peace for the wicked. They steal goats, chicken, motorcycles, wheelbarrow, vandalise poor homes in a 21st century world where youths are the nation builders – shameful.

WE ARE COMING AFTER YOU CULTISTS.” The NRN stated as follows.

“That, as a pan Ndokwa socio-cultural group, we still cherish our heritage of Spartan discipline and moral probity and no foreign culture of violence, of crimes and criminalities will be allowed to thrive anymore in Ndokwa land.

“Therefore, we are saying, Enough is Enough. If you have a morally deficient youth who has refused bluntly to change, turn him in to security agencies for proper rehabilitation, lest he/she constitutes nuisance in our national space.

“That, Austin Emu must not die in vain. His killers must be reined in before long. Ndokwa nation has its traditional security platform – the ‘Oshikonko’ group should enter into our bush, comb it all, mount surveillance on community dwellers to fish out criminal elements and surrender suspicious characters to the police for investigation.

This should come in the form of community based policing and this should be a license to laws into your hands.

“The time has come that the youths of Ndokwa nation who aspires to greatness, to rise to the occasion by standing in the midst of this imbroglio to build peace and ensure it reign Supreme in our land. We don’t want crisis, we don’t want blood, all we crave is peace.

“While the search for the blood thirsty bandits goes on, we must keep the peace. Unconfirmed reports had it that there were pockets of attacks in Kwale and some other quarters some hours ago, this is disheartening.

It is not the way to go. Information gathering, management and dissemination are germaine to the success of the war against cultism and this is the best way to go.

“The NRN as a family, commiserate with family of the late Austin Emu; our condolence goes to the people and kingdom of Emu and the entire Ndokwa nation.

We share in the pains of losing our great son; we shall mourn his death and celebrate his life with submission to the almighty God who is our creator.

“The NRN however call on the Inspector General of Police, the Director General, States Security Service, SSS, Director General, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps…to fish out the killers of Austin Chinua-Emu, within a record time to douse the tension that is brewing in the land.

“Specifically, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command with whom Emu enjoyed a superlative ing relationship should as usual hit the ground running by parading the killers of our son within the shortest possible time.

“The NRN is calling on the Director, Delta State Command of SSS, to beam his searchlight on Ndokwa nation to help us tame our morally deficit youths who are veering away from our traditionally peaceful disposition to one another.

We need to feel the effects of SSS in the three local government areas of Ndokwa land. “The perpetrators of this dastardly act and their collaborators no matter how highly placed should be brought to justice.

The security apparatus must get to the root of this matter with the aim to forestall future occurrence.

The killers are not alone, their kingpins must be named, shamed, investigated, prosecuted and jailed.”

The statement disclosed that the group was open to collaborative efforts with the Police authority to arrest the situation immediately.

They therefore advised that the killing should not be like any other random killing, because the killers of Emu must not go unpunished.

They however called on Ndokwa political elites to thread with cautions and be mindful of those they parade as followers, because if in the end, this case opens the can of worms against any politician, the group shall ensure that such person is nailed and shall not take it lightly with the issue of meddlesomeness with investigation by the security agencies.

The group therefore called on the Ndokwa political elites to thread with caution and mindful of those they parade as followers because if in the end this case opens the can of worms against any politician, we shall ensure that such person is jailed and the NRN shall not take lightly the issue meddlesomeness with investigation by the security agencies.

It added that at “NRN, our eyes shall be perpetually focused on the BALL for Austin Chinua-Emu, not to die in vain.

No law abiding citizen deserves to be killed especially our cherished Ndokwa sons and daughters anywhere in the world.

“We profoundly acknowledge our hardworking and law abiding youth population who of course in large population are eking out a living in all parts of the world, you have our support because you are our pride, strength and our tomorrow.

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Keep the Ndokwa flag flying wherever you may be while we deal lawfully with criminal elements among us. “An Ndokwa son/daughter is strictly defined by huge moral probity, by excellence of ideas, self discipline, humility if otherwise such a child carries a stigma.

“To this end, we call on the ever vibrant Nigerian Press to also support our drive to rid Ndokwa in particular and Delta State in general of the activities of criminal elements by beaming its search light objectively on identified ones through concerted efforts of thorough investigations.”