By Joy Onu
Tension has gripped the Ihetutu community in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, following the alleged killing of two youths by soldiers attached to a mining company over their reported refusal to give the personnel money.
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.
The killings sparked outrage among residents, particularly women and community leaders, who called for an impartial investigation and an end to what they described as the harsh treatment of residents by the company and security personnel at the site.
Reports from the community on Sunday evening indicated palpable grief and tension as residents mourned the two young men.
Donatus Okoro, father of Elema, said his son had been called from home on Sunday morning to join other workers at the mining site but was 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 stopped them and demanded money. He alleged that the soldiers opened fire after the youths said they had nothing 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.
The grieving father, who struggled to contain his tears, appealed to the Ebonyi State Government to investigate the incident and ensure that anyone found responsible was brought to justice.
Joshua, the second victim, was identified as the son of the serving councilor representing Ihetutu community in Ivo Local Government Area. He was reportedly a second-year undergraduate student.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ihetutu Community Development Union, Prince Fabian Chukwu, condemned the killings and urged the state government to intervene.
He said security personnel assigned to protect a mining operation had no justification for killing the youths, even if they were suspected of committing an 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. 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 said.
Chukwu said Palladium had operated in the area for about five years or more, initially working as a technical partner to another mining firm before taking over its operations.
He alleged that the company’s owner, Victor Nwokeji, had displaced Gexpam Mining Company, which brought him in as a partner in a lead-zinc concession originally owned by Gexpam in Ihetutu, and subsequently taken over the mining site.
He further alleged that Palladium was currently operating the site under the name Ambertone Logistics Ltd, which he described as another arm of the company.
According to Chukwu, tensions between the community and the company had intensified following the change in ownership or operational control.
He appealed to the state government to intervene urgently to prevent an escalation of the situation and urged the bereaved families to remain calm while the community pursued justice.
Also speaking, Mrs 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 for an investigation into the killings and a review of 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.
Ifenyinwa maintained that Sunday was a normal working day for male miners in the community, questioning any suggestion that the youths had committed an offence 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 raised concerns among residents about the use of lethal force at the mining site and the conduct of security personnel assigned to protect mining operations.
Residents are calling on the Ebonyi State Government and relevant security authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the shootings, hold anyone found culpable accountable and take steps to prevent a recurrence.
