A PETITION has been sent to Enugu State Commissioner of Police by Mr. Simon Ebulu, a criminologist, over his banishment from his ancestral village, Amofia-Agu, Affa in Udi Local Government Area of the state.
In the petition, which was made available to newsmen on Sunday, in Enugu, dated 12 October, Mr. Ebulu stated that the banishment was in violation of his fundamental rights by leaders of the village.
Ebulu, who recently changed his residence from Nigeria to United States of America (U.S.A), said a fair hearing was not given to him before the decision was taken.
“This is a road with a high criminality record in which about six persons have been shot dead and seven kidnapped in the last 15 years, but I managed to escape.
“Following an intelligence report while in the village on Sept. 4, and knowing that violent crimes have been on the increase there, I called the police to escort me out to Enugu,” he explained.
He further said that on Oct. 15, guests who were coming for the burial of his mother-in-law was barred from gaining access to the community because of his alleged banishment.
“They requested N200, 000 from me in order to allow those going for the burial to go through,” Ebulu said.
The criminologist said that since death of the village’s traditional ruler, the village leaders action should be described as a hate crime.
He alleged also that he had been ostracised by the villagers who would neither greet him nor sell anything to him, saying he had returned to his fatherland hoping to find peace after an admirable service in the USA, only to be faced with anti-human practices imposed on the community.
“All these actions have caused me financial loss and mental anguish. They are meant to ridicule me and impugn on my integrity. I wonder when it became a crime to report a matter to the police,” Ebulu stressed.
When Mr. Sebastian Odenigbo, the President-General, Amofia autonomous community was contacted, he said he was not present in the meeting where the decision to banish Ebulu was taken.
Mr. Odenigbo described the custom of banishment as archaic and anti-human.
Chairman of Amofia-Agu General Assembly, Mr. Johnson Okolo, said that Ebulu would be reintegrated into the village once he pays the fine imposed on him.
Mr. Johnson accused Ebulu of arresting some executive members of the general assembly including the vice-chairman, Mr. Peter Odenigbo with the police.
“If not that I ran away, I would have been arrested too,” he said.
Enugu State Police Command, while confirming the incident through the PPRO, Enugu State Command, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said that their attention had been drawn to the petition, but that he needed to refer to some records to take a position.
