Declare state of emergency on insecurity in Imo — PDP beckons Buhari

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Imo State chapter has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Imo State because of the persistent insecurity in the land.

Addressing the World Press Conference at the party secretariate Owerri, on Wednesday, the State Chairman Chief Charles Ugwuh described Imo as a peculiar conflict state that requires creative and responsive intervention.

The state chairman represented by the State Secretary Hon. Ray Eneana also call on the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police and the Director–General of the Department of State Security to review the entire security architecture and security personnel deployed to Imo State to tackle the fostering insecurity in the State.

He said: “if the insecurity in Imo State persists, the President and Commander in Chief, Mohammadu Buhari should declare a State of emergency in Imo State.

The chairman regretted that over the past three years, there has been a steady degeneration of the security situation in the State characterized by kidnapping, arson, attacks and gruesome killing of innocent citizens.

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He said that Imo people have been traumatized by this unending reign of terror, which has created widespread fear and anxiety in the State, threatening to paralyze social and economic activities.
The party challenges Governor Hope Uzodinma who claimed to know about the agreement between Ikenga Ugochinyere and the unknown gunmen, to as a matter of urgency releases the agreement and the names of the unknown gunmen to Security Agencies for arrest and immediate prosecution.

They also call for the immediate arrest and questioning of the Special Adviser to the Governor  Mr Chinasa Nwaneri following evidence of his threats to Ikenga Ugochinyere before the attack insisting that all Security Personnel attached to Chinasa Nwaneri be withdrawn since he is not entitled to such.

He said: “Ugochinyere Ikenga and indeed all PDP Candidates and Leaders should be provided with police security if given evidence of threats to their life”.

According to them the intelligence-gathering capacity of the Security Agencies in the State should be further strengthened through the deployment of technology, to enable them to adopt a preventive approach to security management in place of the current counter-productive combat strategy.

While calling for immediate disbandment of  the Ebubeagu vigilante security outfit, the party regretted that rather than the outfit operating to address the security challenges in the state, it has been abused as an instrument of suppression and vengeance against perceived enemies of the state government

The party expressed worry that Ebubeagu, which had been currently positioned as a hit squad under the DSS, represents a worse nightmare to the people of Imo State, than the organized network of bandits and kidnappers it was established to confront.

He said: “Indeed, since the deployment of Ebubeagu against separatists groups and agitators, there has been a spike in insecurity to new and intolerable heights, characterized by a vicious cycle of extra-judicial killings and reprisal attacks”

He said: “the result is that Imo State has been transformed into a theatre of war and butchery, where daily extra-judicial murders have become so common that the incidents no longer merit media headline attention”.

According to the party, since the flag-off of their campaigns in December 2022 their efforts to reach out to the electorate through open rallies have suffered severe setbacks on account of the atmosphere of fear and anxiety that has enveloped the entire State.

He said that the candidates for the elections, leaders and stakeholders of their Party are being warned and threatened by unidentified persons to stop all forms of political activities or face unpleasant consequences.

He said: “the tragic irony in all of this is that the State Government under Senator Hope Uzodinma, which has a primary responsibility to protect lives and property, is not only incapable of securing the State but also appears complicit in the escalation of insecurity.