Members of the National Assembly from Anambra State elected on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) have expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the state government handled the assault on the female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Jennifer Oedema Elobor, by a team of the state vigilante group, “Agunaechemba”.
In a statement jointly issued to journalists yesterday in Awka, the state capital, the lawmakers accused Governor Chukwuma Soludo of “paying lip service” to the assault, insisting that but for the public outcry that trailed the incident, the government wanted to sweep it under the carpet.
The lawmakers, who included two senators, Chief Victor Umeh and Dr Tony Nwoye, and five House of Representatives members, Hon. Ozodinobi George, Hon. Afam Ogene, Hon. Idu Emeka, Hon. Oby Orogbu, Hon. Uche Okonkwo, and Hon. Anekwe Peter, rather than tasking the police authorities with carrying out thorough investigations into the matter to ensure that justice was properly served.
They described the attack on the female NYSC member by Agunechemba as a heinous, cruel, and criminal act that flagrantly violated the laws of the land.
The legislators wondered why it took the state government several weeks to sack the erring Agunaechemba operatives and subject them to investigation and prosecution to ensure that they suffered the full weight of the law for their actions.
The LP federal lawmakers insisted, “We can wager a bet that, but for public outcry over the matter, the Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration would have, as in several other incidents, simply swept the dastardly act under the carpet.
“Ndi Anambra would remember that only last week, we had drawn attention to plans by the governor to deploy the discredited security outfit and other rogue elements to unduly influence the outcome of last Saturday’s by-elections.
“Despite strenuous denials by officials of the state government, didn’t everyone see the deputy governor, Onyeka Ibezim, leave his Awka South homestead, with hundreds of Agunechemba operatives in tow, to disrupt the elections in Osumenyi, hometown of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate; much in the same way that the operatives laid siege on the Oraifite home of the APC senatorial candidate?
“We hasten to warn that if Governor Soludo is dreaming of enacting the same act of brigandage in the November 8 statewide gubernatorial election, he had better wake up to the reality that such rascals would be firmly resisted,” the LP federal lawmakers warned.
However, when contacted, Mr Christian Aburime, press secretary to the state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo dismissed the LP federal lawmakers’ allegations.
He told LEADERSHIP that immediately after the incident, the erring Agunaechemba operatives were arrested and detained while the state police command commenced an investigation.
He also countered that the state deputy governor did not lead the Agunaechemba team to harass and intimidate Azuka Okwuosa and Ukachukwu during the bye-election.
Aburime rather stated that the deputy governor led the Agunaechemba operatives to go and rescue people being intimidated and assaulted by thugs during the bye-election.
“You know that the deputy governor is also a deputy chief security officer of the state. So, during the bye-election, the deputy governor was moving around to make sure there was adequate security in the state,” Aburime stated.
He said that it was on record that the administration of the state governor, “Prof Chukwuma Soludo doesn’t condone any acts of human rights abuse; that the government is gender sensitive.
“The government takes the issue of protection of women very seriously, so immediately this assault on the female NYSC member happened, all the Agunaechemba operatives involved were arrested and detained, and an investigation has been going on into the incident,” Aburime stated further.
