The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) said it has discovered the reason for the incessant killing of persons in Effium community in the state.

The group said: “It has come to the notice of AESID that the discovery of some mineral deposits such as lead, Tin, Zinc and some deposits of crude oil is the main reason the Korri natives sponsored and believably backed by the State government are hell-bent on wiping out the rest of other dwellers in Effium and the Ezzas who have the highest population from the area.”

In a statement on Friday by the group’s President, Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, condemned what it described as the partnership between the state government and “a billionaire investor from Anambra state to mine the discovered minerals.”

It attributed the partnership to the spike in violence which it claimed has “led to the loss of hundreds of lives and destruction of property worth millions of naira by suspected hired militia.”

“Recall that we had always raised the alarm and condemned the ongoing carnage in Effium which first started on January 22^nd this year. So far, an uncountable number of souls particularly of Ezza descent have been lost to the violent attacks.”

The group said it is not against any businessman mining “God’s given mineral deposits in any land so long as it meets the requirements of the law and a government, in turn, giving support for such exploration to be carried out.”

It however said that it “is miffed by the insidiously desperate attempts to favour one side against the other and perpetrate heinous violent crimes against those it feels could be an obstacle or opposition to its planned forceful and secret mining activities in Effium. This is insane and downrightly condemnable and we so do!

While insisting that the partnership between the state government and the unnamed Billionaire businessman should not be at the expense of the people, the non-governmental group insisted that the government must desist from the clampdown and prosecution of concerned citizens who are speaking up over this matter. (Daily Independent)

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