Council boss Berates Ebonyi PDP National Assembly Members over motion opposing Ebubeagu
*laments murder of seven Ebubeagu operatives in Ebonyi
By Chinwe Imo-Eze Onwosi
The Chairman of Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Barr. Eni Uduma, on Friday, reacted to the recent motion by Ebonyi lawmakers in the House of Representatives opposing the formation of Ebubeagu in the state stating that “Only the guilty are afraid of Ebubeagu”.
Uduma, who is also a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state described the motion by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lawmakers against Ebubeagu as mischievous.
The council boss lamented that in the course of carrying out their duty to protect the citizenry of the state, seven members of the Ebubeagu security operatives have been gruesomely killed by gunmen in the state citing the recent k beheadeding of a member last week. .
Uduma, who was a former two-time member of the state House of Assembly, EBHA, representating Afikpo South-West Constituency, made this known in a statement he signed and made available to The Voice on Friday.
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state described the motion by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lawmakers against Ebubeagu as mischievous.
The Voice gathered that Mr Idu Igariwey, representing Afikpo North/South Federal Constituency, sponsored a motion requesting that the Ebubeagu security outfit be disbanded and was supported by four other PDP lawmakers from the state.
They are; Livinus Makwe (Ohaozara,Ivo,Onicha), Sylvester Ogbaga (Abakaliki/Izzi), Chukwuma Nwazunku (Ebonyi/Ohaukwu) and Edwin Nwonu (Ezza North/Ishielu).
In the motion, they alleged that the security outfit is being used to hunt, intimidate and eliminate opposition party members in the state.
But Eni debunked the allegations saying that it is only the guilty that are afraid of Ebubeagu.
He said: “I have observed the biased basis of the baseless motion by some dormant members of the House of Representatives on alleged insecurity in Ebonyi State.
“This infamous quintet have never sponsored any meaningful bill or participated in any worthwhile debate on the floor of the House, only to wake up from their inactivity to attempt setting fire on the security infrastructure of Ebonyi State in a bid to play the script authored in Lagos to sabotage the political standing of Engr. Dr. David Umahi.
“It is unfortunate that the PDP National Assembly members of Ebonyi State extraction have chosen to play politics with the efforts of the state government to curb insecurity bordering on communal clashes, farmers/herdsmen clashes, kidnapping and other violent crimes in Ebonyi State, by criticising ‘Ebubeagu’, the state vigilante outfit.
“Ebubeagu is a creation of an existing law duly passed by the Ebonyi State House of Assembly and its mandate of complementing the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies in securing lives and properties are well spelt out in the enabling law.”
Mr Eni said the lawmakers lied by alleging that operatives of Ebubeagu are not professionally trained and wield AK-47 and AK-49 rifles alongside other dangerous weapons.
“The truth is that the vigilante group underwent diligent training in the use of arms which in all cases are limited to duly authorized pump-action rifles,” he stated
