A Federal High Court in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, has disbanded the Ebubeagu security outfit in the state.
According to the court, the disbandment of the security outfit was as a result of human rights abuses, extortions, illegal arrests and use of firearms.
Ebubeagu is a regional security outfit established by South East governors to confront insecurity, especially vicious attacks by criminals suspected to be herders, which have forced people to abandon their farms.
However, many residents have complained that the outfit has become a terror for the communities it was created to protect, especially in Ebonyi and Imo states where the outfit had been launched and operational.
Several cases of human rights abuse, especially extrajudicial killings of local residents have been traced to the outfit in Imo and Ebonyi.
However, following the alarming cases of brutality and extrajudicial killings, the Federal High in Abakaliki on Tuesday disbanded the outfit.
It cited cases of human rights abuse, extortions, illegal arrests and use of firearms.
Although the outfit is a creation of the law, it is not clear how the judgment would stand in the face of security challenges in the country.
Moreover, Nigeria operates a federal system of government where states are federating units, with each state with a police command.
