The Enugu State Government has demolished multi-storey buildings belonging to a billionaire native doctor, identified as Ozo Ezeani, popularly known as “E dey play, e dey show.”
The demolition, our correspondent learnt on Wednesday, was carried out on Tuesday night after news broke out about his alleged involvement in burying a kidnapped pregnant woman alive in his house in Umumba Ndiagu, Ezeagu Local Government Area.
According to eyewitnesses, the villagers had taken the law into their own hands, and the government subsequently demolished the buildings.
A video clip of the demolition, monitored by our correspondent on Wednesday, shows one of the two-storey buildings being demolished by excavators.
A voice was overheard in the video saying, “This is one of the buildings used for kidnappings in Ezeagu, Umumba Ndiagu, and tonight, this building is going down as directed by His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah. Enugu State has zero tolerance for any form of criminality.”
Meanwhile, the native doctors in Ezeagu have denounced Ezeani, stating that he was not one of them.
During a peaceful march on Wednesday, they bore a banner with the inscription, “Ezeani is not our member.”
One said, “You don’t use guns to do native doctor. He is a money ritualist and not a native doctor. Those shooting guns cannot be claiming that they’re native doctors. All the killers, ritualists, evil-doers, and criminals should leave Ezeagu for us.
“We use herbs and shrubs to heal people. We give herbs that help women conceive children; we don’t kill women with their pregnancy. It is an abomination.”
Trouble was said to have started when angry villagers of Unojo Umumba Ndi-Agu in Ezeagu rose against ritualists in their community and beat them black and blue after one of them was caught with a 13-year-old child allegedly for money ritual purposes.
Further checks revealed that what appeared to be a soakaway pit in Ezeani’s home turned out to be a mass grave allegedly filled with the decomposing remains of his victims, including pregnant women. The villagers claimed he buried them alive for ritual wealth.
The development has since sparked rage, with the villagers on Tuesday burning all the buildings in Ezeani’s compound and vehicles. They also dug up sealed holes inside the buildings containing human remains.
A video clip our correspondent obtained showed Ezeani stripped naked, beaten, and paraded through the village.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the incident, adding that through the partnership of the command with the members of the community, the 13-year-old girl was rescued and three suspects all male arrested for kidnapping and ritual murder.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, the command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Bitrus Giwa, ordered that a manhunt for the fleeing native doctor and prime suspect should be intensified.
Ndukwe said that the police operatives, attached to the Umumba Division, in the early hours of Tuesday, at about 3:15 a.m., “in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch personnel and vigilant community members, successfully rescued a 13-year-old girl (name withheld), allegedly kidnapped for ritual murder, at Umuojor village in Ishiagu community of Ezeagu Local Government Area.
“The operation also led to the arrest of three male suspects connected to the crime, namely: Uche Kingsley Agumba, aged 33; Ilo Nweze Onyedikachi, aged 36; and Ejike Odinwankpa, aged 38. The prime suspect, identified as High Chief Levi Onyeka Obu nicknamed “Ezeani” and “E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show,” a native doctor and prominent member of the community, fled the scene and is currently at large.”
The PPRO explained that during the rescue, “two decomposing bodies, one male and one female, were discovered buried in a concrete-sealed pit within an uncompleted building, owned and used as a shrine, and heinous criminal activities by the fleeing prime suspect.
“Investigations reveal that the deceased victims were recently murdered and buried in the pit by the suspects for ritual purposes, and the rescued child was moments away from suffering the same fate before the timely intervention.”
He added, “In line with its laws, the Enugu State Government has demolished the buildings owned by the fleeing prime suspect and used for the criminal enterprise.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, psc, who promptly visited the crime scene, has commended the efforts of the police operatives, local security groups, and community members, whose collaboration ensured the success of the operation.
“He has also directed the Command’s Tactical Squads, as well as Investigation and Intelligence Units, to intensify efforts in tracking down the fleeing suspect and other accomplices still at large, with a firm resolve to ensure justice is served.”