AESID Demands Sack of Ebonyi Police Boss, Proscription of Ebubeagu

• A group in Ebonyi has called on the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba, to sack the state's commissioner of police Aliyu Garba
• According to the group, the police commissioner has been compromised by the Ebonyi state government
• The group also accused the state government of using a local security outfit to harass innocent citizens in Ebonyi

Abakaliki - The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) has asked the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba, to sack the Ebonyi state commissioner of police, Aliyu Garba.

The group called for the sack of the Ebonyi police boss for his inability to curtail the activities of the Ebubeagu, accusing the security outfit harassing innocent citizens of the state.

The Ebonyi indigenes in the diaspora also called on the IGP and the Nigerian government to arrest the Ebubeagu members, disarm and disband members of the group in the state.

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In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Sunday, January 23 by AESID's president, Amb. Paschal Oluchukwu, the group alleged persistent attacks are being unleashed against dissenting and opposition voices in the state by mercenaries, operating under the guise of Ebubeagu Security Network.

Part of the statement read:

“In our dear Ebonyi state, the past few weeks have left social media users, critics of the state government and indeed, members of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP in particular in a thunderbolt.

“Government thugs and agents serving their hireling’s interests have been clamping down on them, abducting, torturing, and handing over critics to the police at points of near death.

“Most disturbing among the many reported cases which our competent sources have tracked and reported to us in the state is the arrest, torture and continuous detention of the spokesman of the PDP, Nwoba Chika Nwoba in custody despite the grievous bodily harms he received and against the orders of an Ebonyi Magistrate Court that he should be allowed to first go and receive treatments.

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“The members of Ebubeagu Security Network which, unlike their Amotekun counterparts in the southwest was constituted to checkmate the excesses of marauding herders who have been killing farmers in the region in their numbers have abandoned their supposed mandate to become a witch-hunting tool to hound, hack, and crackdown on opposition elements and critics in Ebonyi state.

“Consequently, we call on Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police to, without delay relieve the state’s commissioner of police, Aliyu Garba of his appointment having been unduly compromised by the Ebonyi state government so much so that the police cannot even arrest or disagree with the members of the illegal Ebubeagu security outfit terrorizing innocent and harmless citizens of the state.

“We also urge him to immediately deploy to the state, an urbane, morally sound and courageous officer who would not dance to the whims and caprices of Umahi whose government is growing into a full-blown dictatorship.”

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AESID rejects Governor Umahi's 2023 presidential aspiration

The AESID had earlier reacted to the decision of Governor Dave Umahi to declare his interest in the 2023 presidential race.

The group in a statement said it received with mixed feelings the news that Umahi has joined the 2023 presidential race, saying the governor should give stewardship of his seven years in the state.

While totally rejecting Umahi’s presidential ambition, the group said Nigeria won’t survive a week under Umahi as president.

How Governor Umahi joined the 2023 presidential race

Governor Umahi had earlier announced his intention to contest for president on the platform of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.

Umahi disclosed his intention to journalists on Tuesday, January 11, after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Ebonyi governor made the announcement 24 hours after the APC national leader, Bola Tinubu, declared his interest in the 2023 presidency.

Source: Legit.ng