Mbah orders probe into Enugu political violence

Founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chekwas Okorie, has asked South-East governors not to allow the zone to slide into “a theatre of war” as a result of the quest for political power in the 2027 elections.
 
He called on the Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum (SEGF), Hope Uzodimma, to convene an emergency and extraordinary meeting of the forum to nip in the bud the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the region.
 
Okorie, who was reacting to reports of attacks on opposition party members in the region, said they would be held responsible should the region be turned into a war zone.
 
“No matter how the Federal Government of Nigeria may downplay the situation in the North, the painful truth is that wars are raging in the North-West and North-East sectors. Despite the assistance of the United States of America, the wars have not abated.
   
“Our current South-East governors will be held accountable if Igboland becomes another war zone. 56 years after the end of the fratricidal war in the former Eastern Region, the scars and destruction of that war are still festering and unaddressed,” he said.
 
Okorie lamented what he described as a “dangerous trend in a desperate struggle for political power through conquest instead of the ballot box in line with the tenets of democracy and the laws of Nigeria in the build-up to the 2027 general elections in Igboland.”

Meanwhile, the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has called for a thorough and impartial police investigation into the recent violence at a political gathering in the state, assuring that anyone found responsible would face the law regardless of political affiliation.
 
Mbah, in an address to the people of Enugu State yesterday, expressed concern over reports of violence, particularly a shooting incident that left a citizen injured.
 
The governor said his immediate concern was the welfare of those injured, residents who experienced fear during the incident, and families affected by the violence.
 
He assured the victims and affected residents that their safety and well-being remained a priority for his administration.
 
“I know how much our people value the peace and security we have worked so hard to establish in Enugu. Incidents such as these cause anxiety and deserve our full attention,” the governor said.
 
Mbah stressed that every citizen, irrespective of political affiliation, must be able to exercise their political rights without fear, intimidation or violence.
 
He reiterated the state government’s commitment to protecting lives, upholding the law and ensuring that justice was served without favour.