The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Ebonyi branch has called on Mr Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to launch a probe into the recent killings of Abakaliki indigenes living in Anambra state.
The group made the call on Wednesday in Abakaliki during a press briefing by Mr Jerry Onyibe, the committee’s state secretary.
The rights group said that it condemned the June 30 gruesome massacre of 11 innocent Ebonyi indigenes of Abakaliki extraction at Ugboji community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra.
It said that the burden was upon the IGP to unmask the perpetrators and bring them to justice so as to deter future recurrence of such heinous crime.
“The gruesome, despicable and unimaginable events that transpired on Monday, June 30, are utterly condemnable and we demand an unfettered and timely investigation to ascertain the motive behind the attack as well as unmask those behind the killings.
“From our investigation, gunmen arrived in two Sports Utility Vehicles at the venue of a monthly meeting of peace-loving people from Ebonyi in Ugboji, Orumba North LGA.
“After questioning the attendees about their meeting and alleging that Abakaliki people are obstructing them in their own territory, the gunmen provokingly opened fire on them, leaving no fewer than 11 people dead and many others sustaining varying degrees of gun injuries.
“This brazen and merciless attack is not an isolated incident as Anambra state has witnessed a disturbing trend of targeted killings and violence against specific groups.
“Recently, a boy was fatally shot by trigger-happy men from the Anambra state security outfit, Operation Udo Gachi and justice has yet to be served.
“The latest massacre of 11 people in one day from one state is a stark reminder of the insecurity and impunity prevalence in the country and we call on both state and federal authorities to halt this dangerous trend.
“We urgently call on the IGP and the Anambra state Government to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into this gruesome massacre to prevent future occurrences of such deadly violence,” Onyibe said.
Meanwhile, narrating his ordeal in the incident, a survivor, Mr Augustine Odom, who is the chairman of the Ebonyi community in Ugboji in an interview, described the attack as “sudden, unprovoked and horrific” and appealed to Ebonyi Government to come to the aid of the victims.
“It was like a scene in a Hollywood action movie, the armed hoodlums stormed the area of our monthly meeting in two Sport Utility Vehicles and unprovokedly attacked the people and shooting indiscriminately at them.
“About 11 of our members were confirmed dead while many other who sustained varying degrees of gun wounds are still battling to survive,” Odom said. ENDS//
