A House of Representatives member for Orumba North and South, Anambra, Rep. Chinwe Nnabuife has called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the killers of 10 Ebonyi indigenes in Ogboji area of the state.
Nnabuife said, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, that the killings, which occurred during a meeting of Ebonyi community in Ogboji, were uncalled for under any circumstances.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learned that a violent attack occurred on June 29 during a meeting of a faction of members of the Ebonyi Community in Ogboji, resulting in the untimely death of at least 10 persons.
The victims, all of Ebonyi extraction, were lawful residents of Ogboji and members of the Ebonyi Union, who were allegedly attacked by unknown assailants during a routine community gathering.
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Ikioye Orutugu, who visited the community on Wednesday, however, said that a suspect, names withheld, had been arrested for the incident.
Nnabuife, who vehemently condemned the killing, said, “Those responsible for this atrocity must be identified, prosecuted, and brought to justice without delay.
“ No Nigerian citizen deserves to be murdered in cold blood under any circumstances .
“This is an attack on our collective humanity, and it must not go unanswered.”
According to her, the incident stemmed from an internal leadership dispute within the Ebonyi Union in Ogboji.
Nnabuife quoted credible reports as suggesting that the conflict, regrettably escalated and allegedly involved the invitation of external armed elements, that led to the avoidable loss of lives.
She said that the conflict was neither ethnic nor a communal conflict, but rather an intra-group crisis among members of the same ethnic background.
‘I want to emphasize here that Ebonyi indigenes have lived peacefully in Ogboji community for years, going about their businesses without any form of harassment or intimidation from their host community,” she said.
The lawmaker commended the Nigerian Police, the community vigilante group, and Ebonyi community in the area for de-escalating the conflict.
She however urged the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, to extend immediate support to the victims’ families.
