Controversy has trailed the purported arrest of the Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Mr Chika Nwoba, by operatives of Ebubeagu Security Network and Nigeria Police.
Ebubeagu operatives were said to have accosted Nwoba who was in a car with the state Deputy Chairman of the party, Ifeanyi Nworie. The operatives reportedly took him to the police headquarters where he was being detained.
The party in the state has, however, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led state government of using Ebubeagu Security Network to hound members of the opposition party in the state.
PDP Chairman, Hon Tochukwu Okorie, described the arrest as an illegal abduction while condemning the incident.
He further called on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Babagana Monguno and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to take judicial notice of the happenings in the state.
Okorie said: “At about 1300hrs this afternoon, the state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Nwoba Chika Nwoba was abducted by a gang of criminals along Abakaliki/Enugu road, and was thrown into the trunk of the Sienna minibus the abductors used.
“Mr Nwoba was riding in the company of the party, Deputy Chairman, Ifeanyi Nworie who courageously resisted the kidnappers from taking Nwoba away in their vehicle. Barr. Nworie now put a call across the O/C anti-kidnapping unit of Ebonyi police who promptly sent a team.
“The abductors were intercepted and Nwoba was subsequently rescued from the abductors by the anti-kidnapping unit of the Ebonyi police command. So far, Mr Nwoba has been taken into custody by the police. It is unfortunate that rather than arresting the abductors who they met on the ground, they took Nwoba into their custody and allowed the abductors to go.
“We want to warn that no individual has a monopoly of violence. We are being pushed to the wall, the PDP in Ebonyi State is a peace-loving democratic organization, but we are being pushed to the point where we will have to resist the evil that is being perpetrated in the state,” he said.
However, the Security Consultant to the State Government and APC chairman-elect in the state, Hon. Stanley Okoro-Emegha has noted that Nwoba was arrested by security operatives over fake news.
“It is really unfortunate. I don’t like joining issues. The law provides that Ebubeagu can arrest and hand over to the Police. They have been seen doing that on more than two occasions. Chika Nwoba has been on the list of those who need to come and answer for fake news.
“We all know that there’s a law on fake news in the state. Many others are facing similar charges in the state.
“Why would somebody say it is an abduction? Security operatives operate based on intel. And when the information got to them, they said they have seen him. There was an uprising in the location he was. Some say it was an abduction and others said it was not an abduction.
“While a team of Ebubeagu was on patrol, they saw them. Chika Nwoba was there and he was picked. Knowing that he was a member of an opposition political party, Ebubeagu did their job professionally by arresting him and handing him over to the Police. The investigation on the matter continues.
“If there was no petition against him, he wouldn’t have been arrested but there is a petition against him already and that was why he was arrested. Ebubeagu handed him over to the Police. He was not taken to the Government House or any other place. The people they handed over to was a Police team on patrol and not that they (Ebubeagu) took him to the Police Station. The law will take its due course.
“He will defend himself as to whether he is guilty or not. If there’s enough evidence against him on fake news, he will face the law. This incident happened less than 12 hours and people are already adding to the incident.
“So, there was nothing like abduction. He was duly arrested and handed over to the Police. It didn’t even take up to three minutes. Ebubeagu was professional in their conduct as they operated within the ambit of the law,” he said.
(Nigerian Tribune)
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