Crime
Ebonyi APGA petitions Buhari, alleges attacks on supporters by Ebubeagu
The Director of Media and Publicity of APGA Campaign Council, Charles Otu, in a statement on Sunday, alleged that there were fresh plots to destabilise the campaign of the senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South, Ifeanyi Eleje, by suspected Ebubeagu officials.
The statement read in part, “APGA and indeed the Odohzhia Ebonyi campaign council wishes to alert members of the public about this latest schemings and to deposit as follows:
“That the campaign train of our dear Party- APGA has been the most orderly and peaceful in the State. It is to the point that even when virtually all our candidates’ billboards and posters have been destroyed and defaced, we have since chosen to engage and speak directly to the voters, leaving the agents of government to be destroying inanimate objects like our billboards;
“That contrary to perhaps the expectations of the ruling APC and their army of destructive occupation, our campaign messages have already deeply penetrated the entire nooks and crannies of Afikpo North and indeed the entire Ebonyi South.
“This, we are aware greatly miffs the ruling APC who instead of engaging the electorates directly have been deceiving the Ebonyi public with it’s style of exporting it’s scanty supporters from one Local Government Area to another just to form a ‘rented crowd’ to impress the governor and then deceive particularly non-residents of the State and those who may not be aware that they are not on ground and have since been rejected by the majority of Ebonyi electorates.
It added, “The police should invite the council chairman for proper interrogations on his roles and those of his boys before the once-peaceful LGA turns into a theatre of war like its neighbouring Afikpo South, Onicha and Ohaozara LGAs where Governor Umahi’s armed paramilitary Ebubeagu militia has successfully caused to be engulfed in serious crises.
“That nothing, we repeat, NOTHING should happen to Mr. Okogwu, our Senatorial candidate, any members of the families or any of our stakeholders and supporters in Afikpo North LGA.
“The threats against them and the alarms raised in this press statement should be thoroughly investigated by the various security agencies as we cannot afford to lose a soul’s hair in the 2023 elections through the desperate and dastardly activities of an illegal and outlawed outfit like Ebubeagu.”
PUNCH
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Violent Crime Response Unit of the Anambra State Police Command has uncovered and destroyed an armoury belonging to suspected separatist gunmen at Owerre-Ezukala in Orumba South Local Government Area.
The operation, led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Orebe Chidubem Matthew, followed intelligence obtained from a member of the gang currently in police custody.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the police disclosed that the camp had previously been dislodged by a Joint Task Force on security operations. However, some members of the gang who escaped during the earlier raid reportedly regrouped and attempted to resume operations.
According to the statement, items recovered from the armoury include one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with about 2,000 rounds of live chain ammunition, two fabricated rocket launchers with 25 propellers, 10 locally-made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one locally-made Beretta pistol, two pump-action guns, three hand grenades, 10 rounds of K2 live ammunition, one gas cylinder, and one black Ecolac box.
“Recall that the camp was earlier destroyed by a Joint Security Team. Before the confession by the suspect in custody, intelligence had been received over time on how some escaped gang members were attempting to regroup. However, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit resisted and dismantled the camp following a gun duel with the unrepentant members,” the statement read.
The police further stated that some of the armed suspects fled the scene with varying degrees of bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire.
Further investigations revealed that the suspect in custody confessed to involvement in several violent attacks across Anambra State, including attacks on police facilities, the killing of security personnel comprising police, military, and civil defence officers, attacks on government facilities, and the murder of security operatives on stop-and-search duties on various roads in the state.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that with the establishment of the Violent Crime Response Unit, operatives of the command are now better positioned and more motivated to sustain offensive operations against criminal elements threatening the peace and security of the state.
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