Pained by the recent spate of killings that was unleashed on the people of Nkalaha, Obegu, Amaezu and Umuhuali, all of Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi state, Lady Monica Chidinma Ada Eze, the Technical Assistant to Governor David Umahi on Media, has condemned in very strong terms, the inhumane and unprovoked massacre of Monday, March 29, 2021, which has within seconds, turned women into widows and children into orphans.

In a statement made available to media houses in Abakaliki, the state capital, Lady Monica described the act as dastardly, heinous and calamitous, stressing that Monday 29th March, 2021 remains a date never to be forgotten in a hurry given the scares it has left in the hearts of sons of men and the vacuums it has created in the affected communities.

Condoling with the families of those affected by the fatal misfortune, she encouraged them to believe in the assurance offered by Gov. Umahi that perpetrators of the satanic act will be brought to justice to serve as a deterrence to those who may be nurturing similar crimes against humanity.

News Express reports that Gov. Umahi had visited and commiserated with the affected families and communities and assured that justice must manifestly be seen to be done on the matter.

According to the Governor, “It is very shocking that overnight, all the herdsmen in Ishielu Local Government Area vacated the area which means that the local herdsmen in Ishielu are part of the conspiracy in killing of our people. They vacated despite all efforts my government, Governors of the South/East and security agencies have been making to give them full protection not only in the state but in the entire South/East region.

“We feel so sad that this kind of thing should happen to Ebonyi State, we feel so worried for our country Nigeria and we are short of words. I am going to escalate the identities of the people to the highest authorities and we wait to see what they will do, but we condemn this attack.

“If it is allowed to go this way, it is capable of generating very serious civil war among the nation of Nigeria,” the Governor continued.

Commending the Governor for his rare efforts and proactive commitment towards the protection of lives and properties of residents and Ebonyians alike, Lady Monica categorically faulted comments credited to International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (intersociety), over the massacre, describing their criticism as calumnious and a display of their gross insensitivity and disregard for the sanctity of human life.

She said Gov. Umahi should be commended for always holding the lives of citizens in high esteem, stressing that a proper assessment of the inhumane and condemnable gory attack on Nkalaha, Obegu, Amaezu and Umuhuali, will reveal that Intersociety, in its press release, was only concerned in tainting the image of the Governor, as they feigned ignorance over the rapid response and mechanisms put in place by government to restore calm and forestall further breakdown of law in the affected communities.

Lady Monica, who also doubles as the President of DUNAETA, a non-governmental organization formed to promote good governance and democratic principles, called on the group to be a bit more constructive in its criticisms, noting that employing hateful tactics targeted at disparaging Gov. Umahi will definitely turn out counterproductive.

She also commended Governor Umahi for quickly approving the constitution of local vigilante groups and Neighborhood Watch in each of the local government area, to complement the efforts of security agencies in policing Ebonyi communities.

Furthermore, Lady Monica said the creation of additional Mobile Police Units have been approved by government in addition to the deployment of over 600 soldiers to affected communities to restore calm, assuring that with the interventionist measures so far taken by the state government, a possible recurrence has clearly been staved off.

She hailed Umahi for his display of good mastery in the art of governance and called on the good people of Ebonyi State to continue to support and pray for him and his government.

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