Group tasks Gov. Ortom to stop warlords from crossing Benue border to attack Ebonyians
By Chinwe Imo-Eze Onwosi
A group under the aegis of Effium Indigenous Vanguard, in a bid to avoid another inter-state war has called on the Benue state Governor, Samuel Ortom to urgently take drastic measures to stop Ezza fighters from using their border routes to attack Effium natives in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
At a press briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital, Chairman of the group, Godwin Ogaba and Secretary, Sampson Isih, accused Ezza people of violating the peace process and cease-fire order by Ebonyi state government in the lingering war alleging that the Ezzas were attacking Lebadegum and Ofuke in Akparata axis of Effium.
The statement reads, “It should be noted that the Ezzas have continued to violate every single peace agreement and ceasefire orders by the government even as at the time of this press release Ezza fighters are currently attacking Lebadegum and Ofuke in Akparata axis.
“We employ this press release to appeal to Benue state government to complement the effort of Ebonyi state government in nipping this crisis in the bud by urgently taking drastic measures to stop Ezza fighters from using the border routes to come and attack Effium natives as the Ezza fighters who attacked Lebadeg/Ofule villages of Effium are believed to have come from Benue/Ebonyi boundary. This is important if we avoid another inter state war.
“Recently, these attacks by Ezzas have graduated from the use of AK-47 and AK- 49 to the use of improvised explosive devices (IED). The Effium natives have suffered so many casualties with over one thousand hulled and over two thousand houses burnt with properties worth billions of naira destroyed.”
The group however commended Governor Umahi’s effort to restore peace to the area saying that the deployment of the troops and other security personnel to the troubled community has resulted to relative calm in the last couple of days.
“We want to thank His Excellency the governor of Ebonyi state, Engineer David Nweze Umahi for his continuous effort to nip the crisis in the bud with the recent deployment of more army troops and other security personnel to the troubled le community which has resulted to a relatively r calm in the last couple of days”.
