JOINT PRESS RELEASE: Insecurity In Abia: Call For the Governor Orji’s Resignation
With great dismay, we are alarmed by the spinning out of control of the spate of armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom, ritual killings and rape in Abia State, particularly Aba, the commercial nerve centre and Umuahia, the State Capital.
Despite heavy security presence in the ill-fated state of Abia, the fear of armed robbers, kidnappers, ritual killers and rapists is the beginning of wisdom.
It should be noted that since the emergence of Chief T.A. Orji – a man around whose neck over hundred count charges of stealing of Abia people’s funds are hanging – as governor, the ill-fated state of Abia has recorded unprecedented cases of violent crimes. Between May 14 and June 8, 2010, several banks have been robbed, security personnel brutally killed, trouser-wearing ladies raped, and innocent persons kidnapped for rituals and/or ransom under the nose of heavily armed security men, including the blood-thirsty Abia State Vigilante Services (Bakassi boys).
As an indication that Abia has degenerated to a failed state in Nigeria, armed robbers and kidnappers now give NOTICE before they strike, as vividly shown by the invasion of First Bank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, both in Port Harcourt Road, Aba on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Recall that they had written to inform them of their intention to rob them and eventually did, to chagrin of all. And while the people of Enyimba City, as Aba is fondly called, were still writhing in the pains inflicted on them by last Wednesday’s robbery attack, which culminated in the closure of banks and other financial institutions in Aba; no fewer than eighteen persons were kidnapped along Aba-Ikot-Ekpene Road, Ogbor Hill, Aba yesterday, June 8, 2010.
The most shocking of this ugly development is that, rather than gear efforts towards curbing violent crimes in the failed state of Abia, Governor Orji is not only busy acquiring in a manner most primitive perishable worldly benefits but also campaigning for a second term in office. We have therefore begun to wonder whether the spate of violent crimes in Abia are masterminded by him to scare away political opponents from running against him in the 2011 gubernatorial election; or whether he lacks the capacity to govern. Whichever way it is viewed, Governor Orji has abysmally failed in guaranteeing the safety of lives and property in Abia. Simply put, he is an unmitigated disaster.
Accordingly, we call for the immediate resignation of Governor Orji for lack of capacity to govern and/or complicity in the criminal invasion of Abia by armed gangs. This will not only restore peace and tranquillity to the state but also remove all visible roadblocks to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the state and the country at large.
But if by June 30, 2010, Governor Orji fails to toe the path of honour by resigning, we shall mobilize Abia people for non-violent civil disobedience. This is the time for non-violent revolution. This is the time for the dislodgement of the criminal gang in Abia led by Governor Orji and his partners of accursed ways. This is the time for the emancipation of the suffering and dying people of Abia.
Comrade Chidi Nwosu
President
Human Rights, Justice and Peace Foundation (HRJPF)
Barrister Ukpai Ukairo
Chairman
Abia Peoples Forum (APF)
Onapuruagu Prince Ukaegbu
President
Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy (CRPA)
Rev. Emeka Ogbonna
President
Popular Participation Front (PPF)
Comrade David Kalu
Abia State Chairman
Campaign for Democracy (CD)
Pastor Victor Mnenga
Vice President
Centre for the Advancement of Children’s and Women’s Rights (CACWR)
Engineer Amaka Biachi
Executive Director
Centre for Human Empowerment, Advancement and Development (CHEAD)