•Accuses soldiers in Imo State of arbitrary arrest and extortion of citizens

Calling the rash of coordinated killings centred around Akokwa, Ama-Edward and Arondizuogu-Okigwe Highway unbearable and intolerable, a civil advocacy group has called Imo State Government and governments of the South East states to take steps to restore governance, stability and security in the region or risk total collapse of apparatuses of governance and manifestations of anarchy, doom and general disorder.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), which made the call, also condemned the heads of security agencies in Imo State and other parts of South East for failing to put measures in place to check the persistent upsurge in coordinated violence and campaign of terrorism on the citizens of the region by armed non-state actors.

HURIWA said report reaching it shows that soldiers in internal security operations were fond of arresting villagers and extorting huge cash from them as bail fees.

Specifically, the rights group wondered why the security agencies such as the Police, Department of State Services, Army, Civil Defence, amongst others, have failed to beef up security around Akokwa Ama-Edward, Arondizuogu-Okigwe federal road which were now the epicentre of daredevil terrorist attacks, including the assassination attempt on the life of the Spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties(CUPP), Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, in Akokwa.

Besides, HURIWA, based on information it received about what happened on the 10th of January, at about 10:30 pm which led to the killing of the would-be groom and bride in Arondizuogu.

According to the group, a report has it that the said Unknown gunmen attacked a man with Lexus 330 near White filling Station, Ama Edward, but the man escaped from the vehicle and they burnt the 330 Lexus to ashes.

The gunmen went down to Iyiebo with three vehicles which include a Nissan pickup ''white,'' Range Rover sport ''black'' and High Lander ''milk colour'' jeep. All these vehicles were not snatched here but they came in to Izuogu with them.

"Still at Iyiebo, they blocked the road with the vehicles as one of their victims who escaped from them detailed us as follows:

"One Mr Ekemezie Ifechukwu, a native of Ejezie Izuogu who lives in Ibadan, was returning yesterday and stopped at Akokwa. He called his brothers and wife-to-be to come and pick him from Akokwa with Keke. The wife's-to-be name is Gloria Ijeoma Mba from Anambra. Mr Chinedu Ilonu, the Keke man, and also his brother from same Ejezie and Mr Friday Obiukwu, same Ejezie brother who managed to escape untouched. Mr Friday Obiukwu, told us that when they reached Iyiebo, the saw the vehicles that were used to block the road, they thought they were greeting each other, without knowing that they were targeting something.

The keke driver swerved through a little space by the side to pass them, the Nissan driver blocked them but they forcefully scratched the Nissan and entered Iyiebo Ejezie road, not knowing that the Nissan guys trailed them with their lights off and used the Keke light to double cross them."

HURIWA stated further that information reaching its office, showed that the victims then scampered for safety at Ejezie Civic Center , when they noticed that those guys were after them. One of the gunmen opened fire on them, killing Ifechukwu Ekemezie and Chinedu Ilonu instantly and left the pregnant wife with bullet wound on her left hand. After the shootings, some persons within hearing distance of that vicinity of the attack said that they (the terrorists) started quarreling with the guy who shot at people why he did so and they all went off to Iyiebo and set the Nissan and Range Rover on fire and moved towards Obinetiti with heavy noise coming out from the High Lander as if they were fighting in the vehicle."

HURIWA recalled that the killing of the would-be couple from Arondizuogu happened on January 10th but the security agencies in Imo State failed to activate any sort of mechanisms to stamp out these incessant terrorist attacks and threats around the Akokwa Ama-Edward and Arondizuogu-Okigwe Highway, even when over half a dozen violent incidents have happened around there even.

The rights group said it was disturbing that on the same day that the Spokesman of the CUPP, Ikenga Ugochinyere, was attacked, some armed men ran through Umuna and dumped a corpse of a Policeman at Afor-Umuduru in Onuimo Local Government area before running off towards Akokwa through Ndiawa in Ideato North LGA.

HURIWA alleged that soldiers who were in pursuit of the gunmen went to Afor Umuduru and arrested many innocent villagers who were then made to bail themselves with as much as N500,000 each.

The statement reads in part: "HURIWA is calling on the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Farouk Yahaya, to investigate these damaging allegations of miscarriages of justice, irregular, arbitrary arrests, detention and extortion of villagers of Imo State by soldiers carrying out the internal security operations, just as the rights group recalled that only few weeks back, the Anambra State Deputy Governor had caught soldiers extorting motorists in parts of Anambra State."

HURIWA said that these criminal tendencies of a few soldiers were damaging any sort of civil and military relationship which makes it difficult for the state of insecurity in the South-East to be dismantled and for the armed attackers to be subdued, decimated and degraded.

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