Imo State Government has accused the opposition of celebrating the Awo Omamma incident because of their mischievous vested interest in the security breaches in some parts of Orlu zone.

According to government, the hasty conclusion on the incident by the opposition has further exposed them as sponsors and perpetrators of violence in the area

It noted that the ferociousness with which they jumped to blame and condemn the government, even when the Department of State Services has admitted carrying out the operation, should leave no one in doubt as to those behind security breaches in the state.

In a statement he issued in Owerri, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba, expressed surprise that those accusing the government of killing wedding guests in Awo Omamma on Sunday, have refused to listen to the explanation of the DSS that those killed were bandits who were planning to attack innocent citizens the next day to enforce sit at home.

Emelumba recalled that the same opposition elements who did not condemn the not-too-distant incident of random beheading of people and the displaying of their heads in market squares, as well as the discovery of a dungeon where hundreds were buried and cannibalism practiced, have suddenly become rabid crusaders against the shedding of blood as if the blood of those other people was ordinary water.

The Commissioner said the fact that these same elements could also not find the voice to condemn the burning of the country home of the Governor and that of members of his government, in the same zone, equally confirm their complicity, otherwise “why should they condone bloodletting and criminality in the same Orlu axis only to hurry to condemn the government for a crime it did not commit in the same area?”

He said both those arrested during the DSS operation and the Pionter who took the security agencies to the venue where the non-state actors were meeting have confessed that the shootout occurred at the camp of criminals who were planning how to violently enforce a sit-at-home order the next day.

Emelumba said “because these opposition elements have refused to interrogate the submission of the DSS, they failed to notice that only young boys attended the traditional wedding in question, leaving out women and elders and even children, which is curious.”

“They also failed to confirm the fact that the shootout occurred only at the meeting camp and that those caught in the cross fire were those at the meeting venue. Of course, this is only because they are jaundiced with a mindset that finds the government guilty before the outcome of investigations,” the statement declared.

The Commissioner argued that the refusal of those pillorying government of complicity, to listen to the explanation of the DSS suggests that they are collaborators in the security crisis in the area.

According to him, “Why are they in a hurry to accuse the Government of any killing even when the DSS claimed responsibility and gave reasons for their actions?”

He wondered why those who are rushing to condemn the operation never deemed it fit to speak out against the earlier killings by hoodlums in the state. He said, “We were here when hoodlums were beheading people, slaughtering traditional rulers and even eating the flesh of human beings, but these people never condemned the atrocities. We were here when hoodlums burnt the houses of the Governor and government officials; there was no whimper from these latter-day crusaders. But now that the war is being taken to the hoodlums, they have suddenly found their voices.”

The Commissioner was saddened by the fact that now that the security agencies were succeeding in routing the criminals, there appeared to be a coordinated campaign of calumny against them.

He noted that for some time, the state has been relatively peaceful as a result of the gallant efforts of security agencies and wondered why the outcry against their legitimate activities.

Emelumba reiterated his position that the security challenges were politically motivated to make it appear that the Governor was not popular, adding that “Just take a look at the pattern of the insurrection and concentration of criminal activities. They are in Orlu zone, especially Orlu, Orsu, Oru East and Oru West, giving the false impression that the Governor is not wanted, even by his own people. Can’t you see that this is a well-planned script of the opposition?”

He however assured that there was nowhere that the government would condone the killing of any innocent citizen in the state.

“It is absurd for anyone to accuse Government of killing its own youth. That is pure madness. Government is awaiting details of investigation from security agencies. But what has been established so far is that those who died were those at the camp. Once investigations are concluded and there is evidence of any innocent victim, government will take appropriate steps to mitigate the loss,” he submitted

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