Anambra state government has officially taken possession of the expansive premises belonging to the convicted native doctor, Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki.
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that
the action follows the recent High Court judgment in Awka, where Nwangwu pleaded guilty to charges bordering on conspiracy to commit kidnapping against him.
Operatives of the state’s specialized security outfit, Agunechemba, stormed the compound in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area, an operation that saw the total destruction of his main shrine and the burning of various ritual items, including the controversial “Oke Ite” (the Big Pot), which the government maintains was used to fortify criminal elements.
Under the Agunechemba Law (Anambra Homeland Security Law), the state is empowered to seize and forfeit any property used to facilitate kidnapping or ritual-based crimes, destroy structures or items identified as instruments of “fetish criminality” that threaten public peace, take over land and assets belonging to individuals convicted of providing spiritual cover for gunmen.
Speaking to journalists at the site of the demolition, the Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Community Security, Mr. Ken Emeakayi emphasized the government’s “zero-tolerance” policy, stating that the action is not an attack on tradition, but a surgical operation against criminality disguised as religion.
Emeakayi maintained that by burning the shrine and taking possession of the premises, Anambra state government is sending a final warning to those who use their ‘powers’ to aid kidnappers or terrorize Anambra, stressing that the state will find them, the law will convict them, and thier legacy will be reduced to ashes.
He further clarified that the seized premises would be repurposed for public use, signaling the end of an era for the celebrity traditionalist’s influence in the region.
