The once-celebratory spirit of Christmas in Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, has been utterly destroyed, replaced by terror and bloodshed.
In less than a week, the community has been gripped by a spree of cold-blooded murders and brazen kidnappings, with the Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s government nowhere to be found.
On December 24, 2024, at around 10:00pm, gunshots shattered the night near the Chukwura area off Isah Road.
Residents, both young and old, scrambled for their lives, as the festive air turned to one of sheer panic.
By Christmas morning, grim news spread: a newlywed couple had been ambushed by armed kidnappers.
The husband, attempting to escape the ruthless criminals, was shot through his car.
His lifeless body was thrown into the back seat, while his pregnant wife was abducted.
This tragic couple had just tied the knot earlier in December in Asaba, the State capital.
Adding to the horror, an elderly widow, the late wife of Sir E.B.O. O’Keefe, a respected former principal of St. Anthony’s Model College Ubulu-Uku, was found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Evidence points to abduction and torture as the cause, plunging the community deeper into despair.
The bloodshed continued unabated. On January 1, 2025, three more individuals were seized along the same Isah Road axis.
Ransom negotiations are reportedly underway, but hope for their safety remains grim.
Ogwashi-Uku, a town known for its prominent figures like former Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Hon. Isaac Anwuzia, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA), has been reduced to a lawless wasteland.
Despite housing a Nigerian Mobile Force base and recently donating land to the Nigerian Army, the community has been abandoned to its fate.
As residents live in constant fear, they question why their government and security forces have turned their backs on them in this dark hour.
