PRESS RELEASE

15th October, 2008

Campaign for Democracy (CD)

(South-East Zone)

93, Market Road, first floor, back,

Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

E-mail: cdsoutheastzone@yahoo.com

Tel: 234 803 505 6312

BAKASSI BOYS INVADE ABIA CD OFFICE

In the early hours of today, Wednesday, October 15, 2008, members of the Abia State Vigilante Services, popularly known as the Bakassi boys, wielding cutlasses, guns, charms and other sophisticated weapons invaded the Abia State office of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) at Ojike Street, Umuahia, which also doubles as the office of the Bende Analyst newspaper, to abduct the Abia State Chairman of the CD, Comrade Dave Kalu who is also the publisher of the Bende Analyst newspaper, on the order of the Clerk of the Abia State House of Assembly, Mr. Orie Orji .

The irresponsible and unwarranted attack of the CD office by the notorious and blood-thirsty group reputed for extra-judicial killings, criminal extortion of money from Abians and suppression of perceived enemies of the Abia State Government, was in connection with a publication by the Bende Analyst newspaper, vol. 1, No. 8, captioned “Abia House of Assembly, a house without records”.

advertisement

In the said publication, Kalu alleged that the Abia State House of Assembly did not produce the Hansard between 1999 and 2007, despite the budgetary provisions for it and therefore asked the Clerk of the state parliament what happened to the money appropriated for it.

It should be recalled that the Abia CD boss had made several attempts to get copies of the Hansard to enable his organization ascertain the performances of members of the state parliament but was shocked to discover that the House did not produced any for about eight years. Rather than offer plausible reasons for the non-production of the Hansard, the Clerk who is the administrative house of the State House of Assembly, threatened to deal ruthlessly with him, should he publish the story. And today, he kept his threat by sending the Bakassi boys after Kalu.

It beats our imagination that in a supposedly democratic administration, an occupant of a sacred office as the Clerk of the Abia State House of Assembly would resort to primitive and brutal means of suppressing dissenting voices, rather than heading to a constitutional court to seek redress for perceived injustice.

While we condemn this brazen and arrogant display of power, we call on the Director-General of the State Security Services and the Inspector-General of Police to come to the rescue of the Abia State CD boss, before he is eliminated by this blood-thirsty group and as well disband the group. We are also calling on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the allegation of non-production of Hansard levelled against the Clerk of the Abia State House of Assembly by Kalu.

Regional Chairman

Campaign for Democracy