Labour Party faults assault on corps member

As condemnation continues to trail the violent assault of Elohor Jennifer Edema, a National Youth Service Corps member, by operatives of Agunechemba in Anambra State, the Anambra State Labour Party Caucus in the National Assembly has called on the Anambra State Government and the Nigeria Police to bring the perpetrators of the violent attack to book.
The lawmakers described the recent viral video of the brutal attack on NYSC member Elohor Jennifer Edema by operatives of the Anambra State vigilante group, Agunechemba, as a heinous, cruel, and criminal act that flagrantly violates the laws of the land.

In a statement in Awka, Anambra State capital, the Labour Party lawmakers said the Anambra State Government must take immediate action to protect the peace and security of residents and visitors by holding these rogue agents accountable and responsive.

Denouncing the government’s purported sack of the rogue operatives as an afterthought, the Caucus wondered why it took the administration several weeks to act when the incident reportedly took place last month.

“We can wager a bet that, but for public outcry over the matter, the Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration would have, as in several other incidents, simply swept the dastardly act under the carpet.

“Ndi Anambra would remember that only last week, we had drawn attention to plans by the Governor to deploy the discredited security outfit and other rogue elements to unduly influence the outcome of last Saturday’s by-elections.

“Despite strenuous denials by officials of the state government, didn’t everyone see the deputy governor, Onyeka Ibezim, leave his Awka South homestead, with hundreds of Agunechemba operatives in tow, to disrupt the elections in Osumenyi, hometown of the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate; much in the same way that the operatives laid siege on the Oraifite home of the APC senatorial candidate?

“We hasten to warn that, if Governor Soludo is dreaming of enacting the same act of brigandage in the November 8 statewide gubernatorial election, he better wake up to the reality that such rascals would be firmly resisted.”

The Caucus stated further: “The recourse to jungle tactics, one of which led to the brazen assault on the Corps member, was inhuman and barbaric and is hereby condemned in its entirety.

“The Caucus, as a responsible and law-abiding forum, does not support criminality but is seriously amazed that vigilante services in Anambra State are beginning to take over the functions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Police, such that they now have the effrontery to burst into female Corps members’ lodge to brutalise and strip ladies naked, all under the guise of fighting crime. The impunity and lawlessness of this contraption called Agunechemba is well documented and must, therefore, be checked before it further gets out of hand.

“The violent attack was heinous, cruel, and criminal, violating the laws of the land. The Anambra State Government must, therefore, take immediate action to protect the peace and security of residents and visitors by looking inwards to retrain the current band of rogue agents which currently populate the security outfit.

“We demand immediate and comprehensive investigation, and those found culpable must be brought to book to act as a deterrent to others.

“In fact, it is our contention that since no one can be an impartial arbiter in his own case, we urge the Police to take over investigations into the matter, so as to ensure that justice is done to all concerned.

“In saner climes, the offending Agunechemba operatives ought long to have been in the custody of the Police, instead of undergoing interrogation by their bosses. Can cockroaches ever expect to get justice in a court presided over by a hen?”

The statement was signed by Senator Victor Umeh, Senator Tony Nwoye, Hon. Ozodinobi George, Hon. Afam Ogene, Hon. Idu Emeka, Hon. Oby Orogbu, Hon. Uche Okonkwo, and Hon. Anekwe Peter.

Source: The Sun