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From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Imo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the attacks on the House of Representatives candidate for Ideato Federal Constituency, Barr Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.
The party called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Service Commission (PSC) to identify those behind the attacks.
The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Collins Opurozor, alerted Nigerians that for the third time in less than two months, there was another bloody attack today, February 7, 2023, at the residence of Ugochinyere.
He said: “Eyewitnesses are very exact and unanimous in their stories that the hooded attackers were members of the state-backed Ebubeagu Militia Force who were said to have been stationed in Akokwa, just recently.
“This latest attack, apart from its core objective to assassinate Ikenga Ugochinyere, was also contrived to intimidate his supporters and weaken the resolve of the Ideato people who are fully determined to elect Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as member of the House of Representatives at the polls on February 25th, 2023.”
Reflecting on past cases, the party recalled that on December 23, 2022, the convoy of Ikenga was attacked as he returned home from Abuja, and he narrowly escaped death.
“On January 14, 2023, Ikenga’s residence in Umukegwu-Akokwa witnessed a bloody onslaught that left three persons, including his uncle, thirty-two vehicles burnt to ashes and buildings levelled to the ground with explosives.
“Today, the state-sanctioned terrorists who rode in a convoy of vehicles that included an armoured personnel carrier returned to the very same residence with even more audacity, unleashing mayhem on the buildings and everyone in sight. We are yet to establish the casualties.
“It is to be stated unequivocally that the attacks on Ugochinyere began immediately after he exposed the widespread compromise of the INEC voter register. This is what is now known as the Omuma Magic,” the party said.
The party alleged that the appointees of Senator Hope Uzodinma, particularly one Chinasa Nwancn, had telephoned Ikenga and threatened to deal mercilessly with him whenever he would be sighted in Imo State, adding that “since then, Ikenga Ugochinyere has come under attacks which have gulped human lives and assets valued in billions of Naira.
“What our Party finds deeply disturbing is that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government have remained silent over these continuous bloody attacks on our candidate by ostensible agents of the imo APC regime.
“We are aware that Ugochinyere has written a series of petitions to various security agencies and also to the National Security Adviser, yet Aso Rock has not deemed it necessary to call the rampaging petty dictator in Imo to order
“Our Party holds very strongly that the President has abdicated his duty as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, thereby enabling desperate political actors within the APC in Imo to terrorise the State and mow down perceived political foes as it pleases them.”
The Imo state chapter of PDP said that it considers it as mind-boggling that despite its demand for the arrest and prosecution of Chinasa Nwaneri, who revealed the intention of the Uzodinma-led regime to attack Ikenga prior to these attacks, the Federal Government and security agencies never paid heed to its calls.
“More worrisome is the fact that despite our calls for the disbandment of Ebubeagu Militia, redeployment of heads of security agencies who are in bed with the immoral administration of Imo government, and the establishment of an independent panel of inquiry to unravel Imo killings, nothing has been done by the Federal Government
The party urged the Ideato people and PDP members and supporters of Ugochinyere to stand strong and never allow forces of darkness to prevail over the land.
