Apex Igbo socio cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has blamed the Governor of Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodinma over the attacks on the Imo State Police Command and the Owerri correctional centre.
The group stated that Uzodinma should accept full responsibility of violence perpetrated in Owerri on the early hours of Eastern Monday as he had serially failed to constructively pursue peace and instead opted for military action against peaceful Biafra agitators in Orlu.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in a statement by its Presidential General, Engr. Chidi Ibeh and Secretary General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, described the attack on the state police command and Owerri correctional centre as a revengeful mission and well coordinated reprisal attacks against the Government of Imo State in response to the Governor’s acceptance of using Military action and airstrikes against peaceful Eastern security network and Ipob members at Orlu.
The group urged Governor Uzodinma to tender apologies to Ndigbo for resorting to military action and incarceration of innocent people over the Orlu crisis.
According to the statement, “Ndigbo had previously warned Governor Hope Uzodinma about the consequences of his impulsive actions against IPOB/ESN in appeasement of his paymasters. Governor Uzodinma acts before he thinks; now he has seen the consequences of such rash decisions.
“The pattern and uniformity of the modus of operandi of the perpetrators, show evidences of a well coordinated serial attacks in almost police stations in all Igbo states at early hours of each day with the sole targets of amassing ammunitions for the possibly full scale banditry in the South East geo-political zone. Those who attacked the Imo state police headquarters and the Owerri correctional centre also released their members incarcerated by Imo state Governor over Orlu crisis.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide calls for ceasefire;we remind the perpetrators that dialogue remains the best weapon of resolving conflicts and disputes.”
Ohanaeze Ndigbo warned that the South East zone will gradually become another North East If political, religious and other stakeholders in the zone fail to join hands to nip the crisis in the bud.
The group further called on the South East Governors to liaise with the federal government to de-proscribe IPOB and remove the terrorist tag on them.
“South East Governors must establish the regional security network with full backing of the law and engage the youths to defend our territories without further delay,” the group concluded.