A human rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Inter-Society) has alleged political banditry and brigandage in Imo State ahead of the state’s November 11, 2023 governorship election.
The group expressed shock that the state is dangerously going through political gangsterism, killings, abductions, disappearances, house burnings and other property violences.
The chairman of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi in a statement said conventional security forces deployed in the state had allegedly transformed into terror squads and become more criminals than those they were deployed to combat.
“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 deploy to lawfully checkmate.
“The security forces have not only become a nightmare to Imo residents, but also it is very difficult to differentiate them from men and women of underworld or nonstate actor felons. 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,” he said.
He said the violations are politically motivated and ill-conceived and dangerously aimed at retaining gubernatorial seat at all costs in the Nov 11, 2023 state’s governorship poll, adding that the state politically deteriorated further and became a killing field following “the Imo governorship roguery of 2019-leading to Nigeria’s Supreme Court canonisation of the present governor in Jan 2020. Since then, Imo State had been turned upside down; forcing it to become a killing field and South-East capital of political banditry and corruption.
He said democratic forces must congregate and aggregate to rescue Imo State from another four tortuous and bloody years in the hands of the incumbent governor, adding that the democratic forces in Imo and their outside allies including uncompromised CSOs 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 Labour Party 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. In Nigerian context and in democratic elections, political defection has no bearing and value,” Umeagbalasi said.
In his reaction, the commissioner for information and strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba stressed that the present administration has restored peace in the state. According to him, with the level of infrastructure development in the state, the citizenry appears to be following the winning administration naturally.
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