From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A coalition of Arewa Civil Society Organizations on Sunday called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to invite and possibly arrest a former governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, over his alleged involvement in the unrest in the state.
The group also dissociated itself from a recent statement by one “Arewa Youths” group which a few days ago blamed the Imo state government for the attack on the house of an opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) member in the state.
Addressing newsmen at the popular Arewa House in Kaduna alongside other members, the Chairman of the Coalition, Aliyu Muhammad Sani said, those involved in the statement were impostors hiding under the name of Arewa Youths to cause confusion and instability in the state.
According to him, “a closer look at the characters under reference would reveal that one of closest aides of a former governor of the state, Kingdom Okere was among those imposters.
“Shortly after, the said former governor, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha told newsmen that Gov Hope Uzodimma has destroyed Imo State. His words were the same as those who addressed the press conference earlier. So it is not hard to know who sponsored the people.
“Again, the reference by Ihedioha to the Supreme Court judgment which recovered the stolen mandate of Hope Uzodimma from him has linked him to the insecurity that has been rocking the state since 2020.
“Ihedioha is not only bitter that the law caught up with him, but he is also jealous of the monumental achievements recorded by the charismatic governor of the State.
“It was not long that Ihedioha was caught on taped phone conversation where he said that Hope Uzodimma and Imo State will never experience peace until he gets back to power. His threats were not new because his then Deputy, Gerald Irona had openly declared that they will make the state ungovernable for Uzodimma.
“If Ihedioha had been put behind bars for stealing the mandate of His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, perhaps this orgy of violence would have been avoided.
“Consequently, we hereby call on the Inspector General of Police to, without further delay, arrest and prosecute RT Hon Emeka Ihedioha for the electoral fraud of 2019 and for sponsoring insecurity in the state since 2020.
“There are mountains of evidence to assist the police in successfully prosecuting the case and sending him and his collaborators to jail.
“It is quite unfortunate that a man consumed by vaulting ambition had been allowed to destroy a state just to satisfy his political whims and caprices.
“While we await the expeditious action of IGP in effecting the arrest of Ihedioha to answer to his crimes, we hereby pass a resounding vote of confidence on Gov Hope Uzodimma for his sterling performance in three years in office”.