The Enugu State political theater currently finds its self on the verge of danger against the threat of returning to the days of bloodletting and untimely deaths in the hands of political operators who governed the South Eastern State under the Ebeano political group led by the then governor of the state, Chimaroke Nnamani. This is as the unexpected popularity of the Labor party appears to truncate the reemergence of the blood stained group.
This realization comes on the heels of the sudden assassination of the Labor party Senatorial candidate for the Enugu East district, Chief Victor Oyibo Chukwu on the evening of February 22, 2023 at Amechi, Uwani in Enugu South Local Government Area [LGA] three days to the Senatorial election on February 25, 2023.
“Our worthy son had confided in a couple of persons that he was being trailed by members of the Ebeano political group in Enugu State. In fact, in the morning of Wednesday February 22, 2022, the very day he was killed in the most cowardly manner, he told some persons that he was going to write a petition to the security and intelligence agencies in Enugu State on the plans to eliminate him, so that they could investigate the persons involved and nip their plans in the bud.” – stated Professor Arthur Chukwu who spoke on the conditions leading up to the death of Chief Victor Oyibo Chukwu on behalf of the Chief Chukwu family. He called the death an assassination.
“Our harmless son was not only assassinated; his remains were burnt together with his vehicle. His most reliable personal assistant, Mr. Sunday Igwesi was also killed and incinerated in the same manner” – stated Prof. Arthur Chukwu who heads the Department of Professional Ethics and Skills at the Nigerian Law School in Yola, Adamawa State, North Eastern Nigeria.
Interestingly, the leader and founder of the Ebeano political group, Chimaroke Nnamani, up until the death of Chief Victor Oyibo Chukwu, happens to be the political opponent of the diseased against the contested senatorial seat of the Enugu East Senatorial district. As expect, many communities and villages in Enugu State point to him as responsible for the killing. Chimaroke Nnamani has denied involvement in the killing – saying he had no need to kill Chief Chukwu because “he would have won the election of February 25, 2023 anyway”.
A senior political reporter based in Enugu told 247ureports.com that “Chief Victor Oyibo Chukwu became an assassination target because of the stupendous popularity of the Labor party in Enugu State.”
The Ebeano political group have been routed out of Enugu State political during one of the previous administrations. The Sullivan Chime administration [2007 to 2014] which governed Enugu State after the Chimaroke Nnamani administration [1999 to 2007] gave the Ebeano political group a quit notice to vacate the State – and for the political group to seize all its activities in the State. The founder and leader, Chimaroke Nnamani was, in essence, sent on exile. Governor Sullivan Chime banned all operations or gatherings under the auspices of Ebeano in the State.
Prior to Ebeano political group being routed out of Enugu State, numerous killings and bloody violence across the communities of the State were credited to the political group. The political group were considered dangerous and deadly. “They used violence to achieve their political goals” said a reporter who escaped assassination attempt by the Ebeano political group. The reporter who was reporting from Enugu State during the period when Ebeano political group was active in Enugu State added that “the group had killer squads in each local government. Each killer squad comprised of 15 men who were former cultists and thugs. Their job was to kill upon the instructions of the then Governor. Any politician or media reporter who spoke or reported on issues that angered the then Governor is visited by the killer squad.”
After the eight years of the Sullivan Chime administration, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi arrived the government house through political mechanization of the then deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu who engineered the selection of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi at the primary election at the party level. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was the choice of Ike Ekweremadu.
As expected, the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi continued the unofficial ban on all activities of the Ebeano political group.
However, with about three to four years into his administration, his stance on Ebeano political group changed. Political pundits indicate that as Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi readied to contest for a second term in office in 2019, he saw the presence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as overbearing. He wanted the political power and immense influence wielded by the former deputy senate president waned down to enable him some maneuvering room. Through this, the Governor sought another power block. He invited the leader and former of Ebeano political group back into the Enugu State political scene.
Gov Ugwuanyi achieved this fete by securing the senatorial seat for the Ebeano leader in 2019 while the Ebeano leader was residing in United States of America. Ugwuanyi ensured Nnamani got the party ticket unopposed. At the general open polls, Nnamani won the election and became a Senator in 2019. His victory relaunched the Ebeano group into the Enugu State political scene.
The blood-stained political group took over the political machinery of the Enugu State government. Chimaroke Nnamani regrouped his killer crew and took control of the People Democratic Party [PDP] in the State. He took control of who eventually becomes a candidate of the party. As the political year of 2023 came around, the Ebeano group was ready to fully populate the political space in Enugu State.
However, the emergence of the Labor party came with an unexpected bang – throwing the political calculations off and unravelling the plots and aspirations of the Ebeano group. To the extent, experts believe the candidates of the Labor may sweep the entire State with victories on March 18th elections.
The killing and/or assassination of the Senatorial candidate which the people of Enugu State saw as the handiwork of the Ebeano political group has further worsened the situation for the Ebeano political group. As a result, the electorates are unhappy with the PDP and the Ebeano group, and the members of the PDP are aware of the brewing unhappiness. That is why presently, the PDP candidates are shying away from the Ebeano label as they campaign across the State.
It is expected the victory of the Labor party gubernatorial candidate, Barrister Chijioke Edeoga over the candidate of the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Barrister Peter Mbah, a member of the Ebeano political group – will bring about the end of the activities of the Ebeano political group in Enugu State.
