Ebonyi killings: Senate Urges IGP, Others To Investigate

CityNews Nigeria reports that the Senate has urged the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to investigate the killings and kidnapping in Ebonyi State, allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen.

This was part of resolutions after consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Sam Egwu (PDP, Ebonyi North) yesterday. After observing a minute silence in honour of the deceased victims, the Senate condemned the attacks on Ebonyi communities, which led to the destruction of lives and property.

The red chamber also urged the federal and Ebonyi governments to put appropriate measures in place to forestall further attacks.It requested the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the bereaved families and displaced persons in the affected communities.

Directing the police and other security agencies to carry out comprehensive investigation of the dastardly attacks and bring perpetrators to book, it demanded the rescue of those still in the kidnappers’ den.

Coming under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, Egwu, in the motion entitled ‘Urgent Need for the Federal Government’s Intervention to End the Serial Killing of Innocent and Defenceless Citizens in Ebonyi State by Alleged Herdsmen’, bemoaned the general state of insecurity in the country.

“The killing, maiming, kidnapping and wanton destruction of lives and property by herdsmen have now become the daily experience of innocent and defenceless people of Ebonyi who are murdered in their numbers almost weekly,” Egwu stated.

The former governor cited the over 18 indigenes of Egedege, Obehi and Amuzu Communities in Ishielu Local Council of Ebonyi, including a priest, who were murdered in cold blood by rampaging herdsmen on March 30, 2021, among other instances.

He was worried that “if the Federal Government did not intervene urgently, the wicked and senseless killings, kidnapping and destruction of property might continue, thereby subjecting Ebonyians and other Ebonyi residents to severe hardship and terror.”

In his contribution, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) advocated inter-agency interventions that would halt the killings across the country.

“The most important part of our time spent here has always been about reportage of killings of our people in the hands of herdsmen.

“Mr. President, this is becoming very worrisome, that in a country under the rule of law, issues of these nature keep repeating daily. I am begging that, to solve this issue, we should make out time to have inter-agency meetings to sit down and see how we can return to these rules of engagement that can allow us do business without hindrance.”

Senator Michael Nnachi (PDP, Ebonyi South) lamented the number of lives lost to communal clashes and herdsmen. According to him, the ceaseless killings made citizens in Ebonyi to live in fear.