Ohanaeze seeks disbandment of Ebubeagu

• CSOs accuse Uzodimma of complicity in ‘atrocities’
• Govt alleges opposition sponsorship

The Igbo apex socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, slammed the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, over the killings of guests at a wedding at Orlu, Oru East Local Council, calling for the disbandment of the Imo Ebubeagu security outfit.

In a statement in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, the Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, condemned the Killing, noting that Ndigbo has handed over the tragic incident and Uzodimma to God.

Isiguzoro further called for a forensic investigation, led by the Federal Government, into the killings at Otulu, seeking President Buhari’s intervention to assuage the bitterness of Ndigbo over the incident.

MEANWHILE, a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has accused Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, of condoning the killing of Imo citizens by operatives of Ebubeagu security outfit.

Ebubeagu, on Sunday, July 17, allegedly unleashed terror on Awo-Omamma community of the state where they shot at least 14 wedding guests.

In a statement, yesterday, 18 CSOs, including the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Justice and Human Empowerment Centre (JAHEC), and Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) Nigeria, alleged that attacking civilians has become the signature of Ebubeagu activities in the state.

They called on Uzodimma to rein in the criminals masquerading as members of a state security outfit and committing heinous crimes in Oru-West, Oru-East and other parts of the state.

Ebubeagu, the coalition stated, operates in cahoots with the police and other security agencies in attacking Imo people.

RESPONDING, the state government has accused the opposition of celebrating the Awo-Omamma incident because of their vested interest in the security breaches in some parts of Orlu.

It said their hasty conclusion on the incident further exposed them as the sponsors and perpetrators of violence in the area. 

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, in a statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, expressed surprise that those accusing the government of killing wedding guests in Awo-Omamma, on Sunday, refused to listen to the explanation of Department of State Services (DSS) that those killed were bandits that were planning to attack innocent citizens the next day to enforce sit-at-home.

According to him, the fact that the accusers could also not find the voice to condemn the burning of the governor’s country home and that of members of his government in the same zone, equally confirms their complicity.

“Otherwise, why should they condone blood-letting and criminality in the same Orlu axis, only to hurry to condemn the government for a crime it did not commit in the same area?” he added.

The government assured that it would never condone the killing of any innocent citizen in the state.