.Says bandits committing crimes under the guise of IPOB’s ESN
.Reactions trail remarks
Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, has raised an alarm over a plot by some persons to incite war in the South East geo-political zone of the country..
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, monitored in Lagos Wednesday, Umahi said bandits were committing crimes in the South-East of the country under the guise of the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Although he didn’t disclose names or identities of the individuals involved in the alleged plot, he warned that governors of the region will not allow what he described as illegality to reign in the zone.
He said: “The problem of this country is that people will leave their problems and make your problem their problem. But what some of these people are doing is to incite the south-east into war and step aside, and we are not going to buy into that, we are not going to be deceived again.
“Whether it inspires confidence or not, it does not matter to me. What matters to me is that our people will be satisfied with our efforts in protecting their lives and property. People must be very careful, and know that there are grand plans by people who have no interest in the south-east, to incite them into war and we are wiser than that.”
Umahi said the regional security outfit, Ebubeagu, recently launched by the South-East governors was not formed in a hurry, adding that the only recognised security outfit in the region is Ebubeagu.
He said that he and his other colleagues from Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Imo state would fight insecurity within the ambit of the law.
While blaming some politicians for the insecurity in the region, he said: “EbubeAgu is to protect the lives of everyone in the South-East,” the governor stressed.
Recently, the eastern part of the country has come under attacks as gunmen targeted residents, police formations and prisons, freeing thousands of inmates in Owerri.
This forced the governors of the region to launch a security outfit to complement the efforts of the security agencies in the fight against crimes.
Meanwhile, Umahi on Wednesday said bandits are committing crimes in the South-East of the country under the guise of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), but insisted governors of the region will not allow what he termed illegality to reign in the area.
“Of late, we have bandits that are now doing a lot of evil and saying that they are Eastern Security Network (ESN),” Umahi who is also the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, said during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“They commit a lot of crimes and say they are IPOB and most of the time, IPOB will come and say, ‘We have no hands in this, we have no hands in that,” he noted.
While admitting that the development makes it a bit complex in fighting crime, he said that leaders of the region will not allow criminals to have a field day in the area.
According to him, the establishment of the South-East security outfit codenamed Ebubeagu, will tackle insecurity in Igboland.
“We have the command of the law to protect the lives of our people and we would not allow illegality to thrive in our land,” he assured. “Conflict will not resolve conflict,” he insisted.
The governor explained that herders-farmers clashes are not the only threat facing the region, noting that the new security outfit was created to flush out crimes of all forms in the South-East.
Sequel to Gov Dave Umahi’s castigation of the Eastern Security Network,ESN, against the backdrop of the setting up a rival regional vigilante by the South East governors last Sunday in Owerri the Imo State capital.
The rival regional vigilante floated by the governors codenamed Ebubeagu is yet to officially launched with the enabling legal framework,personnel as well as the relevant logistic support but will have Enugu as the coordinating headquarters.
Ebube is viewed by pundits as the longawaited and promised eastern equivalent of the Amotekun in the West and the Hisbah in the North.
However,because it could not come on stream much earlier,people of the zone have become disenchanted with their governors to the point of accusing them of collaborating with the killer herdsmen hitherto visiting mayhem on the populace in the zone.
Ostensibly to fill this security gap,being as it seemed that the conventional security agencies may have been overwhelmed by the agents of terror,or may have become complicit or lacking the will and capacity to deal with the security challenge in the South East,the proscribed pro-Biafran group,IPOB,had moved ii by setting up the Eastern Security Network,ESN,to check the Fulani herders menace.
This however,did not receive the blessing of the SE governors who were the ones that proscribed IPOB.
But then the people of the zone had cheered and had continued massively in cheering and supporting IPOB and ESN as liberators from the unbridled Fulani herders menace.
This has pitted the governors once more against the people as they are hedged in between the devil and the deep blue sea; pandering to the demands of the Presidency or obliging the yearnings of the beleaguered people of the South East zone of Nigeria.
In the light of the above,Umahi’s position was roundly condemned as irresponsive and callous.
In the words of social critic and activist, Conrade Osmond Ugwu,President of Mass Movement,True Democracy,Development and Good Governance,MMTDDGG, “the story credited to Ebony state governor on the existence of Eastern Security Network and the establishment on the security challenges in the South East is rather unfortunate and unguarded.
” In as far as there is no perfection in anything,” the social commentator insisted “one would have expected the governor who as the chairman of South East governors is by implication the leader is South East to fashion out ways of engaging the ESN with the view of partnering with them to contain the security challenges in the zone.”
Ugwu opined that ” the earlier the governments in the zone remove the mentality of seeing and treating the IPOB and others that are connected with them with suspicion, and engage them diplomatically and harness the best in them, the better for all. I also wish to warn that the governments or any group in the zone to play any role that will sell any Igbo group to the enemies in the other climes.
My candid submission is that the is that the South East governors should work harmoniously with other social groups on security mission including the ESN irrespective of the opinion of the federal government and other powers on the other divides to protect the zone without any sabotaging each other. ”
He added that ” the South East governors should also that they give the Ebubeagu Security Network adequate empowerment in the areas of legislation, training and logistics to enable them work harmoniously with other organisations of similar objectives to protect and defend the persons, properties, lives and institution in the zone”,Comrade Ugwu submitted.>
Similarly,member emeritus of the Enugu State House of Assembly,a social commentator and champion of good governance,The Hon Barr. Nwabueze Ugwu bared his mind on the issue of insecurity in the zone and on Gov Umahi’s recent position on the issue; excerpts
