Community leaders and stakeholders of Enuogu Autonomous Community, Nkerefi, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, have launched a rebuttal against what they described as a calculated campaign of blackmail, intimidation and misinformation targeted at the leadership of the community and the Enugu State Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Town Union Matters, Dr. Charles Egumgbe.
The leaders as well as other stakeholders in the community alleged that the recent publications accusing the Commissioner of bias and alleging marginalisation of Ihuezeofia Village was not only false but formed part of a long-standing pattern of subversive activities orchestrated by individuals determined to plunge the community into perpetual crisis for selfish political interests.
In a statement jointly signed by the Traditional Ruler of Enuogu Autonomous Community, Igwe Emmanuel Onukwube, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Mr. Isaac Ugbor, the Committee Secretary, Barr. Abel Ani, and other prominent stakeholders, the community called on security agencies to investigate what it described as “dangerous acts of impersonation, incitement and sustained attempts to undermine constituted authority.”
The leaders urged members of the public and the Enugu State Government to disregard the publications, insisting that those behind it neither represented Ihuezeofia Village nor possessed the mandate to speak on behalf of Enuogu Autonomous Community.
According to the statement, the individuals behind the petition were “known crisis merchants and skeletal moles” whose stock-in-trade had become sponsoring petitions, false narratives and propaganda each time government interventions or development projects were attracted to the community.
“The alarmists are invidious impostors claiming to be what they are not. They do not have the mandate of Ihuezeofia Village or Enuogu Autonomous Community. They are not recognised officers of the Town Union and therefore cannot speak for the people.
“Every time government, non-governmental organisations or public-spirited individuals attract development to Enuogu, these same elements immediately manufacture crises, circulate falsehoods and attempt to frustrate progress. Their objective is neither justice nor development, but personal relevance through instability,” the statement declared.
The stakeholders further accused the purveyors of the fake news of deliberately distorting history by alleging marginalisation of Ihuezeofia Village despite what they described as overwhelming evidence of equitable distribution of opportunities and government patronage.
They recalled that the village had produced elected and appointed office holders, including a Councillor of the electoral ward, Financial Secretary of the Town Union, Deputy President-General and other strategic officers, while also benefiting from government-backed infrastructure, including electricity transformer and other electric infrastructure, road improvements, healthcare interventions and employment opportunities.
“It is therefore astonishing that those who have benefited immensely from the collective goodwill of the community now seek to deceive the public by painting a false picture of exclusion,” the statement noted.
The stakeholders also questioned the credibility of some of the petitioners’ signatories, alleging that they deliberately adorned themselves with academic and political titles they neither possessed nor earned in order to mislead government officials and members of the public, challenging them to produce their credentials.
They added that the deliberate use of false titles amounted to impersonation capable of misleading public institutions and undermining confidence in legitimate processes.
The community leaders equally dismissed allegations that the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs had imposed a caretaker committee or manipulated the affairs of Enuogu, explaining that the committee was lawfully constituted by the state government in March 2026 as a temporary peace-building mechanism after intelligence reports indicated a looming breakdown of law and order from the said subversive elements.
They alleged that one Mr. Edeson Chukwudi had openly recruited armed youths and mobilised thugs with threats to unleash violence should the suspended Town Union election fail to produce him as president of the town union.
According to the statement, the armed displays and repeated threats created widespread fear within the community, forcing elders and stakeholders to petition the state government to suspend the election and intervene before lives were lost.
“The intervention of government prevented what could have degenerated into bloodshed. The caretaker committee was not created to favour anybody but to restore peace and create an atmosphere conducive for a free, fair and violence-free election.
“It is therefore both mischievous and irresponsible for those who precipitated the crisis to now turn around and accuse the Commissioner of bias simply because government refused to surrender to intimidation,” the leaders stated.
The stakeholders further alleged that the same individuals had consistently rejected constitutional processes because they realised they lacked the popularity required to emerge victorious in a transparent election.
Rather than submit themselves to democratic contest, they alleged, the petitioners had resorted to blackmail, false accusations, media propaganda and attempts to discredit respected community leaders and government officials.
The stakeholders further raised fresh security concerns, alleging that Edeson and members of his armed group had openly marked out and compiled the names of certain community leaders and prominent individuals whom they had allegedly vowed to “deal with” over the leadership dispute.
They described the alleged threats as disturbing and capable of igniting violence if left unchecked, warning that the lives of the affected leaders and members of their families were now under serious threat.
Consequently, they called on security agencies to immediately place Edeson and his associates under close surveillance and hold them accountable should any attack, harassment, disappearance, injury or other harm befall any of the named community leaders or their relatives.
According to the stakeholders, “those issuing threats should bear full responsibility for any breakdown of law and order, as well as any violence directed against innocent members of the community.”
The statement also raised concerns over what it described as anti-government tendencies among the principal actors, alleging that one of the arrowheads of the campaign was pursuing personal political ambitions through clandestine opposition activities aimed at dragging the community into needless confrontation with the Enugu State Government.
While reaffirming their confidence in Dr. Charles Egumgbe’s neutrality and commitment to due process, the stakeholders commended Governor Peter Mbah’s administration for acting swiftly to preserve peace in the community.
They maintained that the matter had gone beyond mere political disagreement, insisting that it had assumed dangerous security dimensions requiring urgent intervention by law enforcement agencies, appealing to the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to investigate the alleged threats, protect vulnerable community leaders and ensure that those accused of issuing violent threats were prevented from carrying them out.
The statement stressed that any future attack on any community leader, stakeholder or member of their families should not be treated as an isolated incident but viewed within the context of the alleged threats already brought to the attention of the authorities.
The community leaders also reaffirmed that Enuogu Autonomous Community remained united, committed to constitutional democracy, fairness among its constituent villages and the pursuit of peace, warning that no amount of propaganda or intimidation would derail the community’s determination to protect law, order and sustainable development.
They appreciated the governor for his efforts in transforming Nkerefi, pointing at the massive road infrastructure, bridges, Smart Green Schools, healthcare facilities, rural electrification, human capital development and appointments of the people of the community into various sectors of his administration, pledging continuous support and loyalty.
