BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The People’s Democratic Party, Imo State chapter has alerted Nigerians that for the third time in less than two months, there was another bloody attack today, February 7, 2023 at the residence of its candidate for Ideato Federal Constituency, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.
The party in a statement signed by it’s Publicity Secretary, Collins Opurozor said, “Eyewitnesses are very exact and unanimous in their verdict that the hooded attackers were members of the state-backed Ebubeagu Militia Force who were said to have been stationed in Akokwa, just recently.
“This latest attack, apart from its core objective to assassinate Ikenga Ugochinyere, was also contrived to intimidate his supporters and weaken the resolve of Ideato people who are fully determined to elect Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as a member of the House of Representatives at the polls on February 25, 2023.
“Recall that on December 23, 2022, the convoy of Ikenga was attacked as he returned home from Abuja, and he narrowly escaped death. On January 14, 2023, Ikenga’s residence in Umukegwu-Akokwa witnessed a bloody onslaught that left three persons, including his uncle, dead, 32 vehicles burnt to ashes and buildings levelled to the ground with explosives. Today, the state-sanctioned terrorists who rode in a convoy of vehicles that included an armoured personnel carrier returned to the very same residence with even more audacity, unleasing mayhem on the buildings and letting loose hell upon everyone at sight. We are yet to establish the casualties.”
The party further noted that it is to be stated unequivocally that the attacks on Ikenga Ugochinyere began immediately after he exposed the widespread compromise of the INEC voter register.
This is what is now known as the Omuma Magic.
The PDP alleged that appointees of the governor, Hope Uzodimma, particularly one Chinasa Nwaneri, had telephoned Ikenga and threatened to deal mercilessly with him whenever he would be sighted in Imo State. Since then, Ikenga Ugochinyere has come under attacks which have gulped human lives and assets valued in billions of Naira.
The party is wondering why the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is yet to call the Imo State government to order. “What our Party finds deeply disturbing is that President Mohammadu Buhari and the Federal Government have remained silent over these continuous bloody attacks on our candidate by ostensible agents of the Imo APC regime. We are aware that Ikenga Ugochinyere has written series of petitions to various security agencies and also to the National Security Adviser, yet Aso Rock has not deemed it necessary to call the governor to order.
“Our Party holds very strongly that the President has abdicated his duty as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, thereby enabling desperate political actors within the APC in Imo to endlessly terrorize the State and mow down perceived political foes as it pleases them.
“We consider it mind-boggling that despite our demand for the arrest and prosecution of Chinasa Nwaneri, who revealed the intention of the Uzodimma-led regime to attack Ikenga prior to these attacks, the Federal Government and security agencies never paid heed to our calls.
“More worrisome is the fact that despite our calls for the disbandment of Ebubeagu Militia, redeployment of heads of security agencies and the establishment of an independent panel of inquiry to unravel the Imo killings, nothing has been done by the Federal Government.
“Under the watch of governor Uzodimma, Imo has become like the Hobbesian pre-political state, in which life is nasty, solitary, brutish, poor and short. Our Party is greatly pained by this situation, and therefore calls on the the Federal Government to intervene without further delay. The masterminds of the attacks on Ikenga Ugochinyere must be arrested and brought to book before Imo is plunged into full-blown anarchy and a very bitter, bloody war.”
The party urged Ideato people, PDP members and overwhelming supporters of Ikenga Ugochinyere to stand strong and never allow forces of darkness prevail over their land.
