Imo State Community Gripped In Fears Over Vigilante Leader’s ‘House Of Death’

<h4>Imo State Community Gripped In Fears Over Vigilante Leader’s &OpenCurlyQuote;House Of Death’<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that residents of Egwedu Autonomous Community in Atta&comma; Njaba Local Government Area&comma; a prominent&comma; largely agricultural&comma; administrative area in Imo State&comma; Nigeria&comma;  live in constant fear due to the actions of Chibuike Duru&comma; widely known as Nwagbenta&comma; a self-proclaimed vigilante leader&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He is accused of operating a secret detention facility&comma; extorting market women&comma; and allegedly causing the deaths of at least two young men in recent months&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Community members describe Duru’s home as  place where people are confined in &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;human cages&comma;” sometimes for weeks or months&comma; over minor or alleged offenses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Witnesses say he uses this system to collect money&comma; enforce control&comma; and punish anyone he sees as a threat&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;32663" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-32663" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-32663" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;01&sol;Egu-1-300x181&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Imo State Community Gripped In Fears Over Vigilante Leader’s &OpenCurlyQuote;House Of Death’" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"181" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-32663" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Fear<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;He just comes with guns&comma; collects money and beats people&period; While nobody dares to challenge him&comma;” said a local market trader&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Nwagbenta reportedly moves freely through the community and surrounding areas carrying assault rifles&comma; including <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">AK-47s&comma;<&sol;a> executing his own version of justice in the near-total absence of law enforcement&period; Locals say he decides who is guilty&comma; the length of detention&comma; how much victims must pay&comma; and in some cases&comma; whether they live or die&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Tensions escalated after businessman Amaechi Duru installed solar-powered streetlights near his property to improve safety in the area&period; Nwagbenta allegedly saw the lights as a threat&comma; removed about 15 of them&comma; and took them to his home&comma; warning that anyone attempting to retrieve them would face deadly consequences&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;32661" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-32661" style&equals;"width&colon; 228px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-32661" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;01&sol;Egu-228x300&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Imo State Community Gripped In Fears Over Vigilante Leader’s &OpenCurlyQuote;House Of Death’" width&equals;"228" height&equals;"300" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-32661" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><strong>Egwedu Autonomous Community<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>In Afor Atta Market&comma; Nwagbenta and his men reportedly demand money from traders&period; Those who refuse are beaten or have their goods seized&comma; regardless of their financial situation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Residents call Nwagbenta’s residence the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;House of Death&period;” Here&comma; accused persons are allegedly caged for extended periods&period; Families reportedly pay bail fees between N300&comma;000 and N1 million&comma; with an extra N5&comma;000 every time they deliver food&period; Nwagbenta allegedly conducts daily court-like sessions at his home&comma; ruling on domestic disputes&comma; land disagreements&comma; and theft allegations&comma; with penalties enforced through violence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Torture reportedly includes severe beatings&comma; sleep deprivation&comma; and mock executions designed to instill fear&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Tragically&comma; his actions have allegedly caused deaths&period; On January 27&comma; 2026&comma; 25-year-old Ifeanyi Nnadiemere was reportedly arrested after being accused of transferring money from his mother’s account without permission&period; Residents said he was tortured in custody at Nwagbenta’s home and later died&comma; with his family only called to retrieve his body for burial&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;32662" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-32662" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-32662" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;01&sol;Egu-2-300x169&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Imo State Community Gripped In Fears Over Vigilante Leader’s &OpenCurlyQuote;House Of Death’" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"169" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-32662" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Victim<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>The situation has left the Egwedu community living in fear and demonstrates the dangers of unchecked vigilante power in the absence of law enforcement&period; Immediate intervention is needed to restore safety and accountability in the area&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;