Community attributes deaths to Ezu River

Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano

NO fewer than 20 persons, who sourced their drinking water
from the Ezu River in Amansea, Awka North Local Government
Area of Anambra State, have died of cholera.
In 2013, 30 corpses were dumped in the Ezu River in a most
controversial circumstance.
An inquest was set up by the National Assembly on the matter,
following a public outcry, but the outcome was not published.
Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Awka, the state capital, the
village head of Amaowelle, where the Ezu River situates,
Benjamin Onoania, said at least, 20 of his people had died of
cholera and related ailments as a result of the pollution of the
river occasioned by the dumping of the corpses.
He said the river was the major source of water supply to the
community, regretting that all the promises made to the
community for the provision of better sources of water supply by
government and politicians after the incident were not fulfilled.
Onoania said, “Peter Obi (former governor of the state) promised
to provide good water for the community after the river was
polluted. He dug boreholes, but it was hard water and the
project had not been completed. All the promises from the
Federal Government and the Peter Obi administration were not
fulfilled.
“We consulted Ngige then as the senator representing us, but he
kept promising us he would come to our aid.
“We have made official appeal to the Obiano administration
through our traditional ruler, Igwe Okonkwo, and the member
representing us in House of Assembly.”
The village head said Obiano promised to look into our problem
last year and had started constructing drainage system to
redirect flood from emptying into the Ezu River.
Onoania, however, regretted that government was not coming
forth to the community’s request for assistance to provide
certain things for sacrifice to appease the gods over the
dumping of those corpses in the Ezu River, saying that was the
cause of auto crashes and other mysterious happenings in the
area of late.
“Before recently, we have not heard of anybody from this
community drowning in Ezu River because we have covenant
with the river, but today, such things are common occurrence.
“We have recorded about 20 accidents few metres from the Ezu
River where those corpses were dumped. This shows that the
gods are not happy. Now everybody in the community is living
in fear.
“We plead with the state government to come to our rescue with
every sense of urgency,” Onoania added.
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