Governor Umahi says Ebonyi State supports federal government crackdown in the southeast

GOVERNOR David Umahi of Ebonyi State has pledged his support for the on-going operation Restore Peace currently ongoing across the southeast geo-political zone under which the federal government is clamping down on armed gangs.

Over recent weeks, there has been widespread violence across the southeast geo-political zone as armed gangs have burnt down police stations and attacked correctional facilities releasing inmates. Most of the violence has been attributed to the Eastern Security Network, the armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), set up to confront marauding Fulani cattle herdsmen.

In response to these attacks, the federal government has sent a taskforce made up of soldiers, policemen and other security forces and despatched it to the southeast with a mandate to deal with the culprits. Earlier this week, soldiers from the Sixth Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies have reportedly killed seven ESN fighters during a gun battle in Agbochia Forest in Rivers State.

Receiving the deputy inspector-general of police in charge of the southeast zone Joseph Egbunike at his office in Abakaliki, Governor Umahi said his government supports the crackdown. He lauded the Nigeria Police Force for their resilience in the fight against insecurity in parts of the country.

Governor Umahi said: “Let me thank you Mr Egbunike, you are an action man, we are very very proud of you as a national person who has the entire interest of Nigerians at heart. We are proud of you that not many of our people who get to your level come to identify with our people because the best you can do to your master is to tell him the truth.

"You tell him the feelings of the people and we are happy you are here and we are very happy for what you are doing. All our people needed is to educate them and so, there is the need for everyone to join you to educate our people and we feel so sad that it is only in the southeast that people are attacking police stations and policemen and we are not in any full-scale war.”

In addition, Governor Umahi called on security agencies to enforce existing social media laws to save the Nigeria nation from imminent collapse as a result of fake news. He announced that the Ebonyi State government would soon come up with a law to tackle the menace of fake news which he noted breeds social unrest in society.

Governor Umahi also lauded the acting inspector-general of police, Baba Usman for his efficient leadership and urged him to sustain the breakthrough. In return, Mr Egbunike told the governor that he was in the state to seek support for the new police security effort code-named, Operation Restore Peace in the southeast.