Ekweremadu’s kinsmen hold street protest over his trial

KINSMEN of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Saturday, in their hundreds, staged a peaceful protest in Awgu, the headquarters of Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, to register their grievances against the continued trial of the political leader by the Federal Government.

The protesters marched through the major streets of Awgu with placards, chanting solidarity songs and demanding for the dropping of the forgery charges levelled against Ekweremadu and the Senate President, Bukula Saraki as well as two others.

Some of the placards read: ‘enough is enough, live wire of Igbo race should not be harassed,’ ‘Presidency, leave the Senate alone,’ ‘our son, Dr Ike Ekweremadu and Senate leadership are on course,’ ‘Buhari, APC, let Ikeoha be.’

Addressing the people of Enugu-West Senatorial Zone which Ekweremadu represents at the upper house, the spokesman of the group, Professor Sam Ukpabi, said: “The APC-led Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, refrain from this culture of political persecution and take immediate steps to arrest the unprecedented hardships faced by Nigerians in the past t13 months, the nosedive of the naira, the menace of herdsmen who have turned every part of southern and Middle Belt of Nigeria to killing, raping, and maiming fields; the resurgence of restiveness in various parts of the country; the rising culture of inconclusive and poorly conducted elections; and the disturbing fast-diminishing human rights and political freedom.”