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There was confusion in Nkwegu community near Abakaliki on Monday when over 200 women from the Afikpo-South Local Government Area stripped naked to protest the alleged continued detention of the President General of the community, Ndubuisi Ekumankama, by the police.
Ekumankama was alleged to have demolished a widow’s house in Amangwu Edda community of Ebonyi State.
It was gathered that the naked women were on their way to the Ebonyi State Government House in Abakaliki but were intercepted by policemen at Nkwegu, near a military cantonment.
Our correspondent gathered that the policemen who intercepted the naked women were confused as to how to handle the strange protest.
The protesting women were naked in the upper regions of their body.
It was learnt that some policemen fled the scene of the protest because of the belief that policemen who attempt to stop naked protesters would die.
The Ebonyi State Police Commissioner, Ibekwe Abdallah, had to send a team of policewomen to the scene of the protest.
It was the team of policewomen that brought the protest under control.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State Command, George Okafor, described the action of the naked women as shameful and a desecration of the Igbo culture.
Okafor said the women had planned the protest last week but were advised to seek legal redress as the president general, who arrested by the police, had been charged to court.
The PPRO said, “Last week, a group of women numbering about 20 stormed the police headquarters to protest the arrest and detention of a suspect who was being held for demolishing a widow’s house in Amangwu-Edda.
“After we spoke to them, they even saw the suspect and he spoke to them. This showed them that he is alive. They went back.
“Today, we got information that the same women had gone and mobilised over 200 other women to storm the Government House in protest. We also got information that they were coming into the town naked so, we tried to halt them from gaining entry into the city.
“Our men who earlier got to the scene were repelled because of the sight of the nakedness of these women and we had to mobilise our policewomen, led by a female Assistant Commissioner of Police. Their action was unfortunate and shameful.”
The PPRO added that the policewomen were able to put the situation under control without any casualty, adding that two suspects arrested for demolishing the widow’s house have been charged to court.
