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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Amasiri Community of Afikpo Local Government Area, Ebonyi State has denied kidnapping and killing the people of Edda, in the ongoing land dispute.
The community also challenged those who made the claim, to produce severed heads of alleged victims and return those reportedly abducted.
Its spokesperson, Joy Omagha Idam, in a statement, yesterday, listed the names of those who were killed to include: Sunday Oko Akwa, Oko Akpu Egele, Christian Enya, Agha Oko, Itoro Essien, and Monday Abang.
Also, contrary to the narrative being advanced, Amasiri has suffered irreparable losses, as several sons and daughters of the community have been killed or abducted.
Idam appealed the 72-hour ultimatum issued by Governor Francis Nwifuru to that effect. She sought the intervention of the international community in the alleged torture and killing of Amasiri people by the authorities.
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Idam said: “We state, categorically, that Amasiri has no knowledge, whatsoever, of the alleged killings or abductions.
“The community neither participated in, facilitated, nor condoned any such acts. Any attempt to ascribe collective criminal responsibility to Amasiri constitutes a grave violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees the presumption of innocence and expressly prohibits collective punishment.
“Among those abducted is a retired Warrant Officer of the Nigerian Army, alongside his wife and his in-law, whose whereabouts remain unknown to date.
“Numerous other innocent residents have been displaced, brutalised, or subjected to inhumane treatment in the course of ongoing security operations.
“Despite these facts, the community is being threatened with severe sanctions and punitive measures for crimes it knows nothing about.
“This approach is not only unjust and disproportionate, but poses a serious risk of further escalation of violence and breakdown of law and order.”
