APGA condemns the killing of a councilman in Ebonyi, according to polling on March 18
The brutal killing of Mr. Ogbonnaya Ugwu, the councilor for Echara Ward 2 in Okposi, Ohaozara local government area of the State, has been denounced by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ebonyi State.
On Sunday in Abakaliki, Mr. Charles Otu, the director of media and publicity for the Odohzia Campaign Council of APGA Governorship candidate Prof. Benard Odoh, made this statement.
The State Government was tasked with upholding its duty to safeguard citizens’ lives and property, and he urged the security services to look into and apprehend those responsible for the heinous crime.
“The gruesome murder of Mr. Ogbonnaya Ugwu, better known as SPACO, the councilor for Echara Ward 2 in Okposi Community, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was reported to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Ebonyi State Chapter and the Campaign Council of the Party’s Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates with great sadness.
According to reports, Ugwu was killed around 10 p.m. on Saturday as he was leaving his store, an establishment known in Okposi as ANGLE 90 for drinking.
“The late Ugwu was a liberal-minded, development-focused community leader who was well-liked in Okposi and beyond.
According to sources in Okposi who earlier confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abakaliki on Sunday morning, Ugwu was ambushed by the gunmen near the intersection of Okposi Court Area. According to media reports, the killing—which is the second in the same area in less than a month—sparked protests in the neighborhood.
“As the Odohzia Ebonyi Campaign Council, we strongly condemn this senseless killing of a young, energetic Ebonyi person. We recall and regret the murder of Mr. Ogbonnaya Agwu, another young man, by unidentified gunmen in the same court area, Okposi Okwu, in the Ohaozara Local Government Area of the State, just a few weeks prior to the most recent election.
While expressing our deepest sympathies to the bereaved family, our campaign council calls on the government, whose top priority is still the security of people and their property, to work with security agencies to identify the individuals responsible for these citizens’ murders.
“We are aware that there have been several reports that the many untrained personnel who operated as members of the disbanded Ebubeagu militia have been responsible for several shootings especially at night in Okposi and many other communities in Ebonyi where they shoot to show force, threaten or harass innocent citizens and road users.
“No stone should be left unturned to apprehend and bring to book, this murderous gang that has been terrorizing Okposi, Ohaozara, and the entire State. Recall that we have in our several Press statements lamented to the IGP and other appropriate authorities that the arms in possession of the government-sponsored but now disbanded Ebubeagu militia have not been retrieved from them.
“We have also consistently raised the alarm over the influx of ‘fake’ military and Police officers into the State, which has heightened tension and anxiety among Ebonyians.
“This campaign council, again, hereby urges the security agencies to live up to the bidding and ransack the old Government House, Abakaliki where we learned they have been stockpiling arms and ammunition including alleged quartering of the said ‘fake officers’ and dislodge them before they plunge Ebonyi into unmanageable terrorism”.
(Vanguard)
