PDP Senate caucus condemns killing of youths in Enugu by security operatives

The Senate Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the Sunday incident at Emene in Enugu State, which saw some youths killed by security operatives.

Combined forces of Nigeria security operatives including the police, army and the Department of State Security (DSS), were said to have stormed a school in Emene, where some Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members were having a meeting, when a clash ensued leading to the killings.

The security operatives had also claimed that some DSS operatives were killed by the IPOB members during the incident.

However, in its response to the incident in a statement on Tuesday, the PDP caucus called for the governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to help unravel the truth in the claims of the security agents and the IPOB on what really happened.

The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who issued the statement through his media adviser, Uchenna Awom, condemned the incident in strong terms and said that the constant killing of Igbo youths had given room to wide suspicion of a sinister motive.

According to him, the labelling of every Igbo group as terrorists and the incessant killings of her youths by the security operatives had become one too many and no longer acceptable.

“We are in a democracy where every agency of government, particularly the security apparatchik must adhere strictly to rules of engagement with regards to dealings with the civil populace in such a manner that will be in conformity with international best practices.

“The last time I checked, Nigerians still enjoy freedom to associate freely. Nobody has told us that the Igbo youths meeting last Sunday was a gathering meant to launch an attack on anybody. Who will they attack and for what? What informed the police and DSS deployment to the venue of the meeting?

“Incontrovertible reports suggest very strongly that the killings were ignited when the security operatives stormed the venue of that peaceful meeting, not that the youths marched to anywhere to attack anybody. These are the issues that should be addressed at the panel,” he said.

READ ALSO: ENUGU: Several IPOB members reportedly shot following clash with security agents

Abaribe said it was most worrisome that the people would no longer be allowed to gather peacefully in their own country without being dispersed forcefully or being branded terrorists for no just cause.

Further noting that he would not want to conceive that the labelling of every Igbo youth group as a terrorist organisation is a cover to achieve a predetermined plot, Abaribe added:

“Let it not be that we now have an army of occupation in the southeast, working clandestinely to create fears and state of anomie in a region that has remained perhaps the most peaceful in the country.”

He, meanwhile, called on the youths to remain calm and not to resort to any form of reprisals, or succumb to provocations that could tempt them to take laws into their own hands.

Similarly, the Association of South East Town Unions (ASETU), in a statement also on Tuesday condemned the attack.

ASETU, therefore, called on Nigerian government to quickly set up a judicial panel of enquiry to unearth the immediate and remote causes of the incident.

In a statement signed by its national president, Chief Emeka Diwe and the national secretary, Gideon Adikwuru, the group said:

“We condemn the killing of unarmed civilians on Sunday in Enugu; security forces must observe rules of engagement.

“We are deeply worried over the gory images and videos of the bodies of unarmed civilians, alleged to be members of pro-Biafra groups, reportedly shot dead by security agencies and littering the streets of Emene in Enugu State.

“Whatever their offences might have been, we insist that a republic, to which Nigeria lays claims, must be run on the basis of law and constitutionalism and the law enforcement agencies must at all times respect the rights of the citizens and observe rules of engagement.

“It is further perplexing that despite the deafening hues and cries from our people over the killings, rape, destruction and havoc levied on us by Fulani herdsmen, there has never been any clash between the herdsmen and security agencies, neither have the agencies demonstrated any seriousness in tackling the problem.

“No progressive nation thrives on double standards and injustice. We reject completely the killing of Igbo people, no matter the pretext or guise under which it occurs. Nigeria is currently engulfed in countless security challenges. These same security agencies, who have now found the temerity, strength and latitude to murder unarmed citizens in Enugu, have displayed helplessness in containing more vociferous security challenges like the banditry, kidnapping and insurgency in parts of the country.”

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