From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
There is palpable fear and tension in Ihetutu, Ishiagu community, Ivo Local Government , Ebonyi State, following the alleged killing of two youths by soldiers attached to a mining company in the area.
The victims, Chibuike Elema, 18, and Obinna Joshua, 19, were reportedly shot dead around midday on Sunday at a mining site operated by Palladium Mining Company after they allegedly refused to give money to soldiers deployed to provide security at the facility.
The incident sparked outrage among residents, particularly women and community leaders, who are demanding a thorough investigation into the killings and an end to what they described as the inhumane treatment of their children by the mining company and security personnel.
When our correspondent visited the community on Sunday evening, the atmosphere was charged with grief and tension.
Narrating the circumstances surrounding his son’s death, Donatus Okoro, father of Chibuike Elema, said the 18-year-old was called from home on Sunday morning to join other workers at the mining site, only to be killed while returning from work.
According to Okoro, eyewitnesses told him that the youths were returning from the site when soldiers attached to Palladium Mining Company allegedly demanded money from them.
The grieving father, who struggled to contain his tears, alleged that the soldiers opened fire on the youths after they explained that they had no money to give them.
“My son was called from the house this morning to come and join them for Sunday work. While coming back along the road, according to people who witnessed what happened, the soldiers attached to a mining company called Palladium asked them to settle them.
“But they told the soldiers that they were not with anything. The soldiers raised their guns and shot them in the head,” he alleged.
Okoro appealed to the Ebonyi State Government to investigate the incident and ensure that those responsible for his son’s death were brought to justice.
The second victim, Obinna Joshua, was identified as the son of the serving councillor representing Ihetutu community in Ivo Local Government Area. He was reportedly a second-year undergraduate student.
The killings have heightened concerns among residents over the use of lethal force at the mining site. Community leaders insist that even if the youths were suspected of committing an offence, they should have been arrested and handed over to the police rather than being killed.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ihetutu Community Development Union, Prince Fabian Chukwu, condemned the incident and called on the state government to intervene urgently.
Describing the killings as unacceptable, Chukwu said security personnel attached to a mining company had no justification for taking the lives of the youths, irrespective of any alleged offence.
“We are not happy. For a miner working in our community to authorise security personnel to kill our youths is something we cannot accept,” he said.
“Even if the youths had come to take anything from the company, the appropriate thing would have been to arrest them and hand them over to the police, not to kill them. They were not authorised to kill a vibrant youth like that,” he added.
Chukwu said Palladium had operated in the community for about five years or more, explaining that the company initially worked as a technical partner to another mining firm before taking over its operations.
He alleged that Palladium Mining Company was owned by Victor Nwokeji, whom he accused of displacing its former partner, Gexpam Mining Company, and taking over the mining site at Ihetutu.
According to him, Gexpam had brought Nwokeji in as a partner in a lead-zinc mining concession originally owned by the company in the community.
The community leader further alleged that Palladium was currently operating the mining site under the name Ambertone Logistics Limited, which he described as another arm of the company.
He said tensions between the community and the mining company had increased following the change in ownership or operational control of the site.
Chukwu appealed to the state government to intervene urgently to prevent the situation from escalating. He also urged the bereaved families to remain calm as the community pursues justice.
Also speaking, Eze Ifeyinwa, a former secretary of the women’s wing of the Ihetutu Community Development Union, accused the mining company and security personnel of treating residents unfairly.
She called on the government to investigate the killings and review the continued operations of both the company and the soldiers in the community.
“They are treating our children as if they are thieves. We want them to go. The government should stop both the mining company and the army from operating in Ihetutu. They are treating us like slaves, and it has never been like this before,” she said.
Questioning the circumstances that led to the deaths, Ifeyinwa said Sunday was a normal working day for male miners in the community, dismissing any suggestion that the youths had committed an offence simply by going to the mining site.
“What crime have these children committed by going to the site today? Men work on Sundays; it is only women who do not go to the mining site on Sundays,” she said.
The incident has left the community mourning the loss of two young men, devastating their families and raising fresh questions about the conduct of security personnel deployed to protect mining operations.
Residents are demanding that the Ebonyi State Government and relevant security authorities conduct an impartial investigation, establish the circumstances surrounding the shootings and ensure that anyone found culpable is held accountable.
As the bereaved families mourn their loved ones, the community insists that justice must be served and adequate measures taken to prevent a recurrence.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, said he had yet to receive an official report on the incident from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area.
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