Some prominent indigenes of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, have described the death of the pioneer chairman and leader of the local vigilante in the area, known as ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC), Dr Maxwell Ahiakwo, as a huge loss to the local government and the entire Rivers State.
The Tide reports that OSPAC is the security outfit responsible for the restoration of peace in the once troubled LGA, where a notorious cult leader, late Ejima Igwedibia aka Don Waney held sway.
It was gathered that the ONELGA Ambassador of Peace, Dr Maxwell Ahiakwo, who was an Associate Professor in the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, died in the early hours of last Saturday, but the news of his death only circulated around the LGA in the evening of the same day.
Those who spoke to The Tide confirmed that late Dr Maxwell Ahiakwo had been ill but expressed surprise at his sudden death.
In an interview, a traditional ruler in Omoku, Eze Emenike Ogidi, described the death of Maxwell Ahiakwo as shocking, adding that the entire Omoku Town and beyond have been thrown into mourning.
“Everybody is mourning, nobody is happy at all to hear that sad news”, Ogidi said.
Ogidi gave a brief account of the life and time of the deceased, saying, “Personally, I worked with Maxwell Ahiakwo. I knew him during the Omoku crisis. That was when I worked closely with him.
“Both of us worked in Omoku Peace and Reconciliation Committee. The committee was made up of seven members, two of us and five other pastors.
“We all worked as a team to ensure we restored peace to our community, Omoku. Many occasions, we levied ourselves to see the job accomplished. Maxwell and I contributed higher because the rest were pastors”, Ogidi explained.
According to him, “The whole load was always on Maxwell and I. That is why I felt so bad when I heard the sad news.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana