The leadership of Orluzurumee Youths has called on Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma to set up a peace committee to help stem the tide of killings arising from insecurity in the zone.
They also said that the formation of Ebubeagu, the security outfit floated by the state government to tackle the insecurity has been counter-productive.
The statement at the weekend, which was jointly signed by Prince Arthur Madumere, National President, Desmond Ugwumba, National Secretary, and Don Uba, National Publicity Secretary, reads:
‘We appeal to the state government to speedily set up a panel of inquiry to look into the alleged killings of the Orlu youths. Set up a peace committee that would be composed of the religious leaders, leaders of thought, native doctors, community-based youth leaders and other critical stakeholders to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the violence because all the measures taken so far by the government is seemingly counterproductive.
‘We want to state emphatically that the activities of soldiers, JTF and the security outfit called Ebubeagu is counterproductive in Orlu zone. We record the deaths of our members whose families alleged were killed by the bullets released by security agents. We do not deserve this sinister elimination.
‘Orluzurumee Youths implore the Senator of Orlu zone in the National Assembly, His Excellency, Senator Rochas Okorocha, the Federal and State House Of Assemblies, to link up with the governor to look into the insecurity problem in our zone. The stakeholders should be mobilised with a strong youth leadership to unravel the causes of the violence so that we can restore peace to our dear zone. Failure to do so literally means that the governor and leaders are conspicuously the major sponsors of terror in Orlu because you cannot have a solution in your fingertips and be dancing at the market square. Posterity will never forgive you if this violence continues.’
The youths lamented that the zone has been losing its bright youths and that the economy of the zones is already in ruins.
‘Orlu zone has been losing her bright youths and the economy is drifting to ruination courtesy of the madness that is happening in the area and no stakeholder has deemed fit to rise to the occasion to ask the right questions, team up with like minds {religious leaders, community youth leaders, custodian of culture and tradition, leaders of stranger elements in Orlu zone and conspicuously, the IPOB leaders (if they are available)} to know exactly where the problem lies.
‘We, the youths in Orlu, are in distress. There is no functional leadership in Orlu zone. The governor and the Senator are busy playing politics with the lives of our people. Each day we come out for business, either some of us are molested, arrested or killed by suspected security agents or unknown gunmen. Orlu has become a theatre of war whereas we have a governor from the zone who is supposed to be traditionally and constitutionally proactive to holistically address the insecurity crisis in his immediate environment as an Igboman. A man should not be chasing rats when his house is on fire.’
Credit: Daily Sun