‘Over 150 killed’ — group asks Buhari to end insecurity in Enugu community

A group known as the Enugu Good Governance Group (E-3G) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security agencies to end the killings in Eha-Amufu town, Isi Uzo LGA of Enugu.

The group said in 2022 alone, more than 150 people were killed in the community owing to land disputes with other communities and clashes between herders and residents of the town.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, Odinaka Okechukwu, coordinator of the group, said section 14 (2) (b) of the constitution provides that the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people.

Okechukwu said though Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, governor of Enugu, has made efforts to restore peace in the town, his powers are limited.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government and security agencies should take proactive steps to end the mindless killings in Eha-Amufu is justified and is within their constitutional right,” the coordinator said.

“On 20th December 2022 Governor Ugwuanyi convened a meeting of critical stakeholders, including community, religious and political leaders of Eha-Amufu extraction to find internal cohesion to help them address their leadership gaps and disunity, power tussles, and fractionalization of the youth and neighborhood security by some greedy community and political leaders to take control of the economic resources of the Eha-Amufu communities, which are helping to fuel the crisis.

“Before that, Governor Ugwuanyi had also held a similar meeting with Eha-Amufu stakeholders on January 8th, 2022. In both meetings, Eha-Amufu stakeholders admitted that they were partly the architects of their problems due to the internal power struggles and crisis, but which he has now helped to resolve.

“Knowing the limitations placed on state governors by the 1999 Constitution regarding the security of lives and properties, why put the blames on a state governor, when we should instead put more pressure on the federal government, which is in total control of all the security agencies to step up to its responsibility and also ensure the amendment of the constitution to create State Police?

“We therefore call on everyone truly concerned and honestly interested in finding lasting solutions to the killings and security crisis in Eha-Amufu to stop playing politics in matters of life and death as we have in Eha-Amufu.”