Logara community in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, has been thrown into mourning following the gruesome murder of a pregnant woman.
The woman was killed in Awogwu village in the community.
The victim, identified as Mrs. Chinwendu Amadi, was reportedly raped and killed inside the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (SMICA), Owerri by unidentified hoodlums.
Meanwhile, the youths of the airport community, under the aegis of Onyeaghalanwanneya Youths Movement (OYM), have threatened to ground operations at the airport in protest if the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) fails to improve security in the area and stop attacks by hoodlums on community members.
It was gathered that the woman’s body was found at the weekend in a bushy area close to the airport’s runway.
According to the President General of Logara community, Chief Martin Opara, the deceased, who was a petty trader inside the airport, closed her shop on Thursday evening and was pushing home her wheelbarrow when she was waylaid on a bush path.
She was reportedly violently raped and stabbed several times and left naked in the bush.
The development has since sparked outrage in the community and within the airport community.
Opara said, “The security around the airport must explain to us what happened to the woman and expectant mother in the airport premises. They cannot amass our land and up till now there is no structure put there by the FAAN.
“Except what the Imo State Government has done there recently, there is no visible presence of the federal government in that airport. This land is left to grow bushes and become threats to innocent people living around the airport.”
Reacting to the tragic incident, the OYM accused FAAN of deliberately running the airport without adequate security, saying the situation has endangered the community members and passengers.
The group also gave FAAN one week to address the grey areas of insecurity or contend with the shutdown of operations at the facility.
The OYM president and Government Liaison Officer for the area, Comrade Chukwuma Anuforo, accused FAAN of refusing to employ night security guards shortlisted by the host community.
The youths in the community had held a warning protest where the airport manager disclosed that she had sent all their requests to the FAAN management.
“We’re giving FAAN one week to fix the problem or face our own problem,” Anuforo said.
“Governor Hope Uzodimma has since made efforts to lighten up the airport runway which has since made night flights possible. But, you will be surprised to note that robbers have carted away some of the lights and the lighting system.
“These things happen because of the absence of the aviation security and night guards which the FAAN has refused to employ because normally they should come from the host community.”
Anuforo also demanded that a hospital must be constructed to serve the host community as is being done in other communities that host such a facility.
He said, “Our position is that we cannot allow the death of this woman go like that without any serious measures by the FAAN to secure the airport.”
“And if anything is not done urgently, we will be left with no other options but to occupy the airport and stop operations there,” Anuforo warned.
“FAAN must pay for the death of this our sister who died on the runway.”
He called on the management of the airport to clear the bushes on the premises of the airport or allow village women to use the area for farming.
He said, “During the time our women were farming on that airport land, the entire place was always cleared. But, since they asked our people to stop farming there even without erecting any perimeter fence, criminals have taken advantage of the bushy area to rob our people and now somebody is dead.
“Our position is that if they don’t want to make use of the large expanse of land given to them, they should relinquish it to the community to enable our women farm there. At least that way, some of these criminalities would have been reduced.”
“If they don’t do anything now that our sister has been killed there, we’re going to protest at that airport,” he said
He commended the state police commissioner and the air force commander for their support.