Rescue Imo From Political Bandits, Gangsters, Group Tells Stakeholders

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, a non-governmental organisation, has called on democratic forces in the country to urgently rescue Imo State from the hands of political gangsters fomenting trouble in the southeastern state.

In the statement signed by its board chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and other officials, the society condemned the heightening political banditry and brigandage in the state ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship election.

It said it was saddened that the state is dangerously going “through political gangsterism, killings, abductions, disappearances, house burnings and other property violence”.

The statement noted: “We are also deeply concerned regarding the intensification of military and police terror in the State; to the extent that over half of the State’s 27 Local Government Areas and most of their ‘autonomous communities’ are under military and police siege and terror.

“We are deeply alarmed that conventional security forces deployed to the State have fully transformed into terror squads and become more criminals than those they were deployed to lawfully checkmate.”

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The society further stated that the security forces have been compromised and it has become difficult to differentiate them from non-state actors.

“The worst of it all is the culpable role of the State Government including aiding, abetting and using State public or taxpayers’ funds to ground the State and degrade, suppress and oppress its citizenry. The sum-total of the above is found to be politically motivated and ill-conceived and dangerously aimed at ‘retaining gubernatorial seat’ at all costs in the Nov 11, 2023 State’s Governorship Poll,” the society added.

However, the group urged democratic forces to rescue Imo State from another four tortuous and bloody years in the hands of the gubernatorial incumbent.

“The democratic forces in Imo and their outside allies including uncompromised CSO and Media leaders or activists must be worried and concerned by ongoing sponsored political defections and organised killings, maiming, abductions, disappearances and property violence.

“The leaderships of leading parties like APGA, PDP and Labor must live above board, shun transactional/money politics and join hands to rescue Imo State. Political defections in Nigeria have rubbished and messed up the country’s leading political actors and ruined their characters and integrity,” the group advised.