Uzodinma meets Buhari, says 50 suspects arrested over Imo attacks

Hope Uzodinma, Imo governor, says about 50 suspects have been arrested in connection with the recent attacks in the state.

Recently, there have been attacks on security agencies and other government facilities in the state.

Earlier in the month, some gunmen attacked the federal prison and police command headquarters in Owerri, the state capital, and set ablaze vehicles packed in the vicinity. Some inmates in the prison were also set free.

Speaking with journalists on Friday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja, Uzodinma asked the nation’s intelligence agencies to publish names of politicians allegedly sponsoring banditry across the country.

He alleged that the criminal activities happening across the country were being sponsored by opposition elements with the intent to discredit the incumbent administration.

“It’s not only CCTV; some of those arrested by security agencies, some of them are not from Imo state or the south-east. It was a combination of those within the state and those from outside the state. As of the last count, we arrested almost 40 to 50 people, who also made useful statements and confessed to the crime,” Uzodinma said.

“From 2015 till today, I thought what the problem would be is people saying that there’s no job creation, people are not feeding, salaries are not paid, infrastructure are going down, social interventions are not approved by government. These things are there, available — a passmark for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Now, people are no longer talking about that. Rather, what they are doing is to sponsor crisis, to the extent that those funding this banditry are politicians, which I challenge and call on security agencies to make their names available to the press, because what they want to do is to distract a government that is focused.

“If this government is not doing well, I’ll be one of those that will declare the government as not doing well. But a situation where you’ll leave the formal way, ethical way of doing politics, and you are now sponsoring banditry to bring down a government, for Christ’s sake, we should rise up and condemn it, all of us.”