…Town union PG aspirant alleges sponsored attacks on PDP supporters
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The leadership, elders, women, and youth of various Eha-Amufu communities have united against the recent protests by women from Eha-Ohuala, Eha-Amufu Ward III, denouncing them as politically driven.
This reaction comes amid unfolding events that, according to community members, have exposed the protests as a political ploy rather than a genuine outcry against herders’ excesses. The women of Eha-Ohuala, known as a Labour Party stronghold and the hometown of the party’s 2023 governorship candidate, are now being accused of using security concerns to mask their political agenda.
In a viral voice note on Thursday, human rights activist and Women Aid Collective (WACOL)-trained paralegal, Richard Ogenyi, decried attacks on those with opposing views. He claimed that his wife and children were targeted after he told visiting journalists that there had been no recent mass killings in Eha-Amufu, contradicting the claims made by the protesting women in widely circulated videos.
Reports from Eha-Amufu on Thursday and Friday indicate that leaders and youth from other communities accused the Eha-Ohuala women of misleading the public. Initially, they said, the protests appeared to be about herders’ attacks, only for it to become clear that they were politically motivated. They alleged that the women were deliberately targeting members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Eha-Amufu Ward III. However, PDP supporters were reportedly urged by Isi-Uzo Council Chairman, Hon. Obiora Obeagu, not to retaliate.
“These women went after the PG of Mgbuji Community and one of the women was overheard saying ‘… Ndu Labour ga achinata Mgbuji,’ meaning that Labour Party must take over the leadership of Mgbuji Town Union,” a local source, who preferred anonymity, revealed.
“A lot of people out there are being deceived based on herders’ sentiments and they don’t know what is going on in Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu. Truth is that Mgbuji is not the only community in Isi-Uzo with a herders problem of over 15 years. But Eha-Ohuala and Mgbuji are typical examples of communities destroying themselves by themselves. The truth is unfolding,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Richard Ogenyi, in his viral voice note, raised an alarm over the treatment of his family. He stated that his wife was dragged to the village market and humiliated by the protesting women because of his support for Governor Peter Mbah of the PDP in the 2023 governorship election, instead of their kinsman, Labour Party candidate Chijioke Edeoga.
“My name is Richard Ogenyi, from Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu, a human rights activist and WACOL-trained paralegal. Since after the 2023 Enugu State gubernatorial election, these hoodlums have been threatening anyone that they perceive as an enemy or political opponent in Eha-Amufu. Last week, a team of journalists, numbering about 30 from various media houses, visited Eha-Amufu on a fact-finding mission in respect of the menace that herdsmen are causing in our community. Anybody who granted an interview has been attacked by uninformed women being used by their sponsors.
“This morning, March 20, 2025, they came after me and as I was not at home, they took my wife hostage and taken to Afor Mgbuji market, where she is being humiliated right now.
“I call on all authorities, including the digital projects governor of Enugu State, to come to our rescue right now.”
Media reports indicate that during the journalists’ visit, Ogenyi stated that while isolated incidents, such as the killing of an undergraduate and the rape of a woman in February, had occurred, security had significantly improved under Governor Mbah and Chairman Obeagu. He dismissed claims of recent mass killings and arson as exaggerated.
“From my own view, they protested against the herders’ invasion of our place because, as you can see, this place you are seeing now is called Orie Ogbete or Orie Uzo Ugbo Mgbuji. It was a lively place before the herders drove us away in 2022.
“So, how I view what happened one or two weeks ago as an independent person is that what the woman did was good in creating awareness.
“But the truth is that there was an element of politics in the protest and I am not happy about that aspect because they should have focused on the main issue. For instance, I am surprised hearing that people numbering in hundreds were killed in Eha-Amufu recently. Truth is that after the incident of 2022, we have not witnessed such number of killings being circulated.
“Since Obiora Obeagu’s second term and Governor Mbah’s administration, we have witnessed a lot of security improvement and insecurity has dropped drastically,” he told reporters.
Earlier in the week, Eha-Ohuala women attacked and stripped another community leader and PDP supporter, Israel Mgborogwu, accusing him of selling community land, collecting money to kill people, and suppressing information on alleged mass killings in Eha-Amufu—allegations he strongly denied.
Mgborogwu, who has been cleared to contest for the position of President-General of Mgbuji Town Union, is believed to be the target of political opposition. It is alleged that anti-PDP elements, determined to install a Labour Party member as town union leader, are orchestrating these women-led attacks to derail his candidacy, knowing authorities would be reluctant to act against them.