Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, has described the banishment of the former chairman of Edda local government area, Dr Eni Uduma Chima and his younger brother, Uduma Chima by the town union of the community as null and void.
The governor said the action of the town union against the two brothers, negates the principles of fair hearing as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The community, known for its volatility because of series of crises arising from power tussle by political gladiators in the area, have been witnessing killings, maiming and destruction of properties worth millions of naira for the past two months.
The latest killing occurred on Wednesday when a member of the community, Udu Nnachi Uzor was murdered by gunmen in his house, leaving his wife, Onyinye, who is nursing a 2-month-old baby and three other children behind.
The widow alleged that a member of a political group in the area known as Catcham Boys, killed her husband and called for the arrest of the man who she gave his name as Deri.
Before the killing of Uzor, the town union of the community and some stakeholders of the area pronounced the former chairman of the local government, Eni and his younger brother, Uduma banished for seven years.
They also announced that the duo will pay N106 million as fine when they return from the banishment after the seven years.
The banishment escalated the tension in the community.
Governor Francis Nwifuru who was visibly angry over the crisis, summoned the warring groups to his office on Friday to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
The governor declared that the banishment of Eni and his younger brother was null and void and that it fell short of the constitution of Nigeria.
“Eni requested that his MAC-Truck diverted to an unknown destination should be returned to him. The community should provide his MAC-Truck and return it to him,” he ordered.
Nwifuru ordered all the warring groups to collapse their structures to the town union leadership and traditional rulership of the community.
He ordered the reactivation of Ekoli police post as recommended by Eni to tackle security issues in the community head-long.
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