The former Governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has condemned the killing of five people in Ezinachi community, Okigwe local government area, describing the tragedy as another proof of the government’s failure to protect life and property.

Reacting to the gruesome killing of Mr. Emeka Ezeagwula, his wife Blessing, Mr. Ejike Otuonye, Mr. Chidi Chineke, and a vigilante member, former governor Emeka Ihedioha decried the rising violence in the state as unacceptable. He cautioned that Nigerians must not resign to living under fear and bloodshed.

“We cannot normalise tragedy. We cannot accept insecurity as fate,” Ihedioha stated.

He emphasised that the killings were not just numbers but human beings, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and defenders of their communities whose lives were brutally cut short.

Ihedioha further described the incident as “an assault on the dignity of humanity and a direct consequence of the collapse of governance and security architecture in the state.”

He insisted that no society can thrive where human lives are treated as expendable.

According to him, the massacre should serve as a wake-up call to both the state and federal governments to take urgent action in restoring peace and protecting lives and property.

“The first duty of government is the protection of life. Any failure in this sacred duty is a grievous abdication of responsibility.”

The former governor tasked security agencies with moving beyond rhetoric and acting decisively to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure that such a tragedy does not repeat itself.

“I call on the security agencies of government to rise to their constitutional mandate — not only to bring these murderers to justice but also to restore confidence in our people that their lives truly matter.”
Ihedioha expressed shock that ordinary citizens in Imo now live in constant fear, unable to farm their lands or sleep peacefully at night.

“Our people deserve to live in peace, to till their lands without fear, and to sleep without the dread of gunfire,” he said.

He warned that the persistent breakdown of security risks driving communities into despair and dangerous self-help.
Ihedioha also sympathized with the families of the victims and the Ezinachi community, stressing that their grief is shared by all well-meaning Imolites

“Their pain is our collective pain. Their loss is an assault on us all as a people,” he declared.