Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has said that the South East will not use the dreaded Bakassi Boys as the regional security outfit that will soon commence in the zone.

Umahi, who is the chairman of South East Governors’ Forum (SEGF) spoke through the Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, Stanley Emegha, in chat with journalists in Abakaliki yesterday.

There were suggestions that Bakassi Boys should be used for regional security, but Umahi said that SEGF could not accept the boys for the purpose.

According to him, Ebonyi has been running Neighbourhood Security Watch and the outfit has been gazetted in the state’s law.

Name doesn’t matter; the important thing is doing the work and keeping the state safe, he argued, adding that Nigerians can see that there is a lot of insecurity in the country.

“In as must as the Federal Government is doing its best, its best is not enough. They (federal security agencies) should redouble their efforts in curbing insecurity because it is solely their responsibility to secure lives and property of the citizenry.

“As such, what is happening here is that the president has not taken drastic and hardened measures; if he does, the security agencies must come out with a solution to insecurity in the country,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State and other South East leaders to immediately take pre-emptive steps to prevent armed herdsmen from attacking any community in the region.

The rights group in a statement by the national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, yesterday noted unfounded allegations by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), since last year, which had resulted in attacks on communities.

Besides, HURIWA also noted that Plateau, Benue and Kaduna states had in recent times witnessed bloody invasions and attacks by suspected herdsmen, shortly after such sensational claims were made by Miyetti Allah, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had so far refused to order the arrest and prosecution of such persons who had spread hate-filled speeches that led to such despicable crimes like the mass killings of farmers and the destruction of their villages.

HURIWA said: “The reason we are raising the alarm is exactly because in the recent past and more specifically on June 28, 2018, MACBAN made allegations against some Plateau communities and followed it up with the description of the attacks on some communities in Plateau as an act of retaliation over the killing of 300 cows belonging to its members.

“To be forewarned is to be forearmed; so says the wise people. It is in this frame of mind that we have in recent time analysed the media contents from a group that claims to represent herdsmen in the South East known as Miyetti Allah cattle-rearers. This group has been in the news lately in different media channels claiming that four Fulani herdsmen and 108 cows had reportedly been killed in Anambra State.” (The Guardian)

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