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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Disturbed by the senseless and unprecedented killings going on across communities in South East, Igbo women under the aegis of Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), have vowed to risk their lives and end the killings if the federal and state governments fail to do so.
In a statement signed by President of IWA, Nneka Chimezie, the women said the senseless killings in South East especially in Imo State could no longer be allowed to fester.
The statement read in part: “Igbo women are determined to take a risk to end this nonsense killings if the federal and state governments fail to act expeditiously.
“Igbo women will rise to defend our ancestral land than watch our children being slaughtered like cows after surviving the 1967-1970 genocidal war that claimed over 3 million of them.”
The women said it was shocking that the barbaric attacks and senseless killings had continued to fester unchallenged despite the heavy presence of security operatives and multiple checkpoints on the roads.
Recalling the recent killings in Arondizogu in Imo State, the women queried: “How can armed men just invade a community and start shooting everybody on sight? The recent massacre at Arondizogu without any single arrest despite the heavy presence of Ebubeagu and federal security checkpoints on our roads, cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet.”
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The IWA president said what happened at Arondizogu is presently going on in Okigwe also in Imo State. “The insecurity in Okigwe town and neighbouring communities is getting out of proportion. Our youths in these areas are being killed like chicken on daily basis.
“Communities like Agbobu, Umulolo, Aku near Ihube, Umuowa in Mbato are all deserted. It’s same story at Isieke, Awomanma, Akokwa, and parts of Anambra State. Even traditional rulers of these communities as well as their subjects are now refugees in other lands while gunmen have taken over their communities”, Chimezie alleged.
While calling for proper investigation into the killings, the women said in December 2024, a former militant leader claimed he was contracted to guard South East.
“He said his men were on ground in Imo State fighting against criminals. The questions are: who contracted him? Who was he killing? Was there any war in Imo State? How come the Federal Government has not debunked this or arrested him for questioning? How come the conventional security agencies are not enough to quell insecurity in Southeast that a none state actor had to be hired?”
The women also demanded the activities of the Ebubeagu security outfit in Imo and Ebonyi states should be scrutinized to bring them in line with established norm.
IWA said its findings revealed that some of the criminals behind the atrocities in the South East were being sponsored to demonize members of the Indigenous
“These criminals are the ones committing all the atrocities especially in Imo State while the security agencies and media keep pointing fingers at IPOB and ESN (Eastern Security Network), “ the women stated.
