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State governments in the South East must immediately outlaw regional security militia Ebubeagu, a former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Dr Charles Ugomuoh, has said.
Ugomuoh, who is the Labour Party’s (LP) South East National Security Coordinator, called on perpetrators of violence in the region to sheath their sword in the interest of brotherhood and peace and to peace and to prevent the region’s disenfranchisement in the 2023 general election.
The Ex-AIG, LP chieftain and governorship aspirant in Imo State made the call at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
“The advent of Ebubeagu has brought untold hardship to the people of the region, especially in Imo and Ebonyi states where violence and terrorist actions are now pervasive.
“The Government of South East Region must ban Ebubeagu now if they are not complicit with the violence they are perpetrating. A House of Assembly candidate of the Labour Party was shot dead, houses and vehicle razed and so to many other labour party members. No arrests, no prosecution where are we heading to?
“The Inspector General of Police must put a stop to this and also put measures on the ground to reassure and secure the people of the region as the elections approach for free, fair and credible elections to take place.” He stated.
“We also wish to call on the Governors of the southeast of Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ebony and Enugu state to exercise the prerogative of Governance and their Oath of office in the protection of lives and properties of the citizens of the region. The people of the southeast must not be disenfranchised.
“We wish to call on all the security agencies especially the Police and DSS to be alive to their duties and responsibilities in the areas of securing lives and properties of the people of the region. The people of South East are called upon to resist this bare-faced intimidation and unwarranted violence and troop out on Election Day to vote.
“The Inspector General of Police and Director General of DSS are called upon to ensure intelligence-led policing, deployment of technology and pro-activeness to secure the people of the region. A situation where violence and imported terrorist activities have enveloped the region is no longer acceptable.
“The state governors and security agencies must rise up to the occasion and secure the people. A situation where non-state actors perpetrate violence, people are shot at will, houses and vehicles are set ablaze and government and security agencies look helpless are no longer tolerable and acceptable because the people’s lives matter.
“The security agencies must be proactive and resist compromise. This violence is a recipe for voter apathy and should not be allowed. A situation where deliberate violence and terrorist activities are deployed ahead of the 25th February 2023 General Election will disenfranchise the people and there will no longer be a level playing ground for all the contestants. A sponsored sit-at-home in the South East is now the other of the day,
“Where one person is shot and many are scared away to keep them indoors ahead of the general election will result in voter apathy.
“The state Governors must answer to where security votes are deployed to since they are incapable of securing their states and the people. It may not be unlikely that some state governments and misguided politicians are sponsoring this violence as a means to ride back to power and disenfranchise the citizens. This must stop,” he stated.
