Tension gripped Ochanja Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday after the Chairman of the Emordi Shoe Dealers Association, Hon. Tochukwu Anigbogu, narrowly escaped death following a violent attack allegedly carried out by thugs loyal to a former market leader, Chief Nwabueze Umeh, popularly known as Ofiafuluego Okija.
Anigbogu, an APGA chieftain and former councillor representing Njikoka Ward II, sustained severe injuries and was left in a pool of blood after the assailants reportedly attacked him with cutlasses and axes, causing grievous bodily harm, including a fractured skull. He is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed medical facility.
Anigbogu, who is also a stakeholder in the APGA and a member of the Soludo/Ibezim Campaign Council, was elected chairman of the Emordi Shoe Dealers Association alongside eight other executives on November 20, 2025, in an election supervised by officials of the Onitsha South Local Government Area.
However, the election was later nullified by the Anambra State Government through the Special Adviser on Markets Development, Chief Evarist Uba, who inaugurated a caretaker committee to oversee the market’s affairs. Dissatisfied with the decision, Anigbogu and his executive members approached the court, insisting that they were duly elected by traders as a sub-market association within Ochanja Main Market.
The crisis escalated on Wednesday when Anigbogu accompanied police operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, to the market to effect the arrest of traders accused of disrupting a prayer session and handover ceremony held on December 5, 2025. The police action followed a petition alleging assault against some traders.
Eyewitnesses said the arrest attempt triggered a violent confrontation, during which armed men allegedly loyal to Chief Umeh descended on Anigbogu.
“In the process, armed men and thugs loyal to Umeh reportedly descended on Anigbogu, beat him to stupor and inflicted bodily injuries on him with cutlass and axes,” a witness said.
Anigbogu was rushed to a nearby hospital, but his attackers allegedly stormed the facility in a bid to continue the assault, prompting hospital security to intervene. He was later discreetly moved to another medical facility to save his life.
Speaking from his hospital bed on Thursday, Anigbogu accused Chief Umeh of orchestrating the attack and hijacking the affairs of the Emordi Shoe Dealers Association for nine years after allegedly refusing to hand over at the end of his tenure.
He further alleged financial impropriety, claiming that Umeh failed to account for “450 plots of land acquired by the traders at Oba and another 100 shops built by the traders for market expansion.”
According to Anigbogu, the violence did not end with the physical assault.
“We came to effect their arrest because Ofia and his boys have continued to attack us and prevented us from assuming office after our democratic election held on November 20th, 2025,” he said.
“Ofiafuluagu Okija instigated the attack on us during our prayer session and handover ceremony on 5th December, 2025 where they unleashed mayhem on us with ndi aka odo, destroyed our plastic chairs, tables and also injured some of our members.”
He continued:
“So we wrote a petition to the police who came for arrest yesterday and we went as pointer to aid the police on the invitation. It was there that Ofia ordered his boys to attack me with dangerous weapons. I passed out and was revived later in the hospital.”
Anigbogu further alleged that his assailants looted his three shops in the market.
“Ofia also led the thugs to my three shops in the market where he personally supervised the looting of my shops. They made away with $85,000 dollars which I just exchanged for my foreign business trip and N10 million in the first shop. He also took N8.350 million cash and N6.150 million in my second and third shops.
“He also looted a total of 3,750 pieces of foreign shoes in the three shops valued between N46,000 and N55,000 each.”
Claiming his life was under threat, Anigbogu appealed directly to Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
“Ofia has boasted that he has bought over anybody that matters in this case and there is nothing anyone can do to him about this. My life is in danger right now and I am calling on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to not only stop Ofia’s lawlessness but also restore our leadership of the market to ensure peace in the market because the traders overwhelmingly voted for us. This is a Save Our Soul call,” he said.
Reacting to the allegations, Chief Nwabueze Umeh denied any involvement in the attack or looting, insisting that Anigbogu was the aggressor.
“95 percent of goods that come into that market belongs to me and they want to destroy my business,” Umeh said.
“I was there in my office celebrating my wife’s birthday and also offloading our containers when Anigbogu came in with police and started pointing at those to be arrested.
“I did not even do anything. It was those who saw his affront that revolted and attacked him. I only went to his shop to look for some of the goods he collected from my office when he stormed there with policemen, so I did not take anything away from his shop. Let him go and settle any issue he has with government and not me because government has constituted a caretaker committee in the market.”
Meanwhile, the leadership tussle has moved to the courts. Counsel to the Registered Trustees of the Emordi Shoe Dealers Association, Chief Ugo Ugwunnadi, has filed a suit at the Onitsha High Court against Chief Friday Nwabueze Umeh and 13 others.
In Suit No. O/390/2025, filed by originating summons, the plaintiffs are seeking, among other reliefs, “a declaration that the 1st plaintiff, being an incorporated trustee under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, is not subject to the control of the Government of Anambra State.”
They are also asking the court for “a declaration that the 2nd to 9th plaintiffs were duly and validly elected on the 20th day of November 2025 to run the affairs and administration of the 1st plaintiff, in accordance with its constitution,” as well as “N50 million exemplary and punitive damages against the defendants jointly and severally for acting without jurisdiction.”
A pre-action notice has also been served on the Special Assistant to the Governor on Markets and Parks, the Attorney-General of Anambra State, and the Special Adviser on Community Security and Commander of the Agunechemba/Udo-ga-achi Joint Security Taskforce.
