Nigerian Groups Slam Governor Uzodinma, Demand Immediate End To Killings In Imo

A coalition of Nigerian civil society organisations has called on Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to put to an end the bloodletting going on in the state.

The coalition made up of 18 civil society organisations stated this in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Thursday, titled “Governor Hope Uzodinma must end the bloodletting in Imo state”, and signed by Okechukwu Nwanguma on their behalf.

In the statement dated July 19, 2022, the Coalition insisted that Governor Uzodinma should rein in the bloodthirsty criminals masquerading as Ebubeagu security outfit, committing serial acts of extrajudicial killing, rape and other crimes against humanity in Oru-West, Oru-East and other parts of the state and bring perpetrators to justice.

The group which was reacting to the gruesome murder of 14 wedding guests in Awo-mama in Oru West local government area on Sunday evening by gunmen believed to be operatives of the Ebubeagu South-East Security outfit in the state, condemned in strongest terms, the savagery and atrocities being committed daily by the group directly supervised by the governor.

While describing killings in Imo state as alarming, the coalition noted that all the security agencies – Nigerian Army, police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Ebubeagu have all been competing to kill young men over 15 years with little or no investigation carried to ascertain the facts.

It described the silence of both governor Uzodinma and President Muhammadu Buhari in the face of the atrocities going on in the state as despicable, especially when the atrocities were committed by Nigerian security agencies.

“We are informed that Ebubeagu operates in cahoots with the Police, State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies in the state.

“The Imo State Police Command authorities have also remained silent in the face of these deadly attacks on the youths and other members of the affected communities.

“In June 2022, RULAAC wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him to order an investigation into the activities of Ebubeagu operatives and other security agencies in Imo State following reports that several young men were allegedly killed, their body parts harvested and their remains burnt by security personnel comprising of the Ebubeagu, police, the SSS, the Army and the NSCDC.

“It was revealed, among other things, that young men from age fifteen (15) and above are usually the targets of these bloodthirsty hounds who arrest many of them and are never seen again or their whereabouts ever known again by their communities. Neither the Imo State Governor whom Ebubeagu reports directly to nor the President who is the country’s Chief Security Officer has deemed it fit to address these acts of terror on communities threatening to liquidate their youth population.

“In June 2022, Ebubeagu Security outfit in search of youths to capture in these communities allegedly invaded a compound in Okporo Community and ended up shooting everybody in sight including the elderly men, leaving several of them in the pool of their blood. Ebubeagu operatives are said to periodically carry out joint operations with the police, SSS and civil defence, allegedly arresting young men based on unsubstantiated accusations.

“In some cases, some of the arrested youths are taken to the Tiger Base office of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Owerri, Imo State where they are tortured, extorted or even killed. Young women are allegedly violently seized, taken to bush paths or inside their vehicles and gang-raped and asked to thank God that they were not killed but “merely raped”.

“We are further disturbed by recent virile but yet to be independently verified reports that some teenage girls who were out in the evening playing amongst themselves within their family compound in the Njaba and Orlu axis were arrested by Ebubeagu operatives and indefinitely detained at the SSS facility in Owerri.

“One of the teenage girls identified as 15-year-old Oluebube Uzoma and others including Chidera Amaefula, Chidinma Oba, Favour Azubuike, Chiamaka Okoro, Chibueze Ezike, and Mmesoma Ezike were said to have been arrested and detained at the SSS facility in Owerri for more than four (4) months and are allegedly being sexually exploited with Chiamaka Okoro allegedly already pregnant during the period of her unlawful incarceration.”

“There is information that many of those recruited into the Ebubeagu in Imo State are alien militant elements who were handed assault rifles without appropriate training and ostensibly sent to go after the ‘unknown gunmen’. The unknown gunmen seem to have since gone underground but Ebubeagu operatives have turned their fangs on armless youths.

“We are deeply concerned about the activities of this killer outfit which have become too egregious and inhuman to condone. Whatever may be the motive for setting up such a deadly outfit cannot be in the interest of public safety and security, especially as Governor Hope Uzodinma who set it up, to all intents and purposes, condones the atrocities they commit against communities.

“There are also fears that the outfit may eventually transform into a tool for political violence. Governor Hope Uzodinma should, on his own, take steps to rein in these bloodthirsty hounds masquerading as a security outfit. He needs to reassure Imo citizens and residents that he has their best interest at heart, contrary to the widespread notion of the contrary.

“He must end the killings and atrocities, order the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to account and guarantee adequate compensations to the victims.

“President Muhammadu Buhari in his capacity as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as the ultimate Constitutional authority in control of security in Nigeria should decisively and urgently intervene in aid of communities affected by insecurity.

“We call on President Buhari to call Governor Hope Uzodinma to order and order a stop to these barbaric acts. The Police Act 2020 prohibits profiling and arrest of persons based only on their looks, hairstyle or bodily mark. The Nigerian Constitution also guarantees citizens’ freedom of movement, association and assembly as well as the right to life and human dignity,” the statement reads.

Members of the Coalition are “Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Justice and Human Empowerment Center (JAHEC), Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD), Nigeria International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative, Samuel Ihensekhien of one love foundation endorse it. Samuel Akpologun (Ace & Vanguard LLP) International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC).”

Others are “Anambra State Next Generation Youth Initiative International (NeGYII), Eyeeoma Development Initiative Umuahia, Abia State, Bauchi Human Rights Network (BAHRN) (NOPRIN), Foundation Institutional and Sustainable Development Foundation, FCTLegal Resources Consortium, Lagos Justice for Peace and Development Initiative, Lagos, Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women, Kaduna Rights Enforcement and Public Law Centre, Human Rights Social Development and Environmental Foundation (HURSDEF), Public Enlightenment Projects (PEP).”