•Imo women, youths protest against Ebubeagu

By Chinonso Alozie, OWERRI

The 2023 Imo East Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  Uche Onyeagucha,   yesterday said the situation in Imo State was degenerating into anarchy.

He stated this  in Owerri, in a statement through his Special Assistant on media,  Macdonald Ebere, regarding the alleged killings by the Ebubeagu security outfit of the government and the closure of the Oziza Fm Radio station by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC.

Onyeagucha described what has been  happening in Imo State as provocative and disheartening.

According to the statement, “The PDP Candidate for Imo East Senatorial District, Uche Onyeagucha has observed with consternation the recent closure of the Catholic-owned Radio Station in the state, Oziza 96.1 FM, by the National Broadcasting Corporation.

“Onyeagucha notes that this latest action by the  oppressive regime of Senator Hope Uzodimma, after the gruesome slaughtering of fourteen innocent Imo youths at Otulu which is provocative and disheartening.

“Regrettably,  rather than appealing to God for self-cleansing, Senator Uzodimma further prevailed on the NBC to shut down Oziza FM for uncovering the nefarious activities of his administration and exposing to the public, his slaughtering spree in Imo State particularly in the Orlu zone using his Ebubeagu militia.

“The instigated closure of the Radio Station is nothing but a calculated ploy by Governor Uzodimma to gag the press and other democratic voices in the state. We condemn in strongest terms, the draconian, strong-arm and headmasters/bravado tactics of Senator Hope Uzodimma to blatantly stifle free speech and independence of the press in the state.

“We call on Imolites, the Catholic community and people of good conscience to rise in solidarity against the further degeneration of Imo State into a state of lawlessness where democratic voices are gagged by the state government,” he said.

Imo women, youths protest against Ebubeagu

Meantime, hundreds of women and youths of Oguta local government area of Imo State, yesterday, staged a protest in their communities, insisting that the Ebubeagu security outfit of the government should be banned from operating in Oguta after they allegedly killed a youth whose name was given as Kelechi Ogbonna last Sunday.

The women who wore black attire moved the protest in and around the community and to the Oguta Divisional Police Station in the area to present their demands.

They said they were protesting because they wanted justice for the victim Ogbonna. They also said Ebubeagu should go because they were afraid that if they continued to stay in the community, they would wipe out all the youths in the area.

According to one of the protesters, a woman, whose video went viral on social media  during the demonstrations while speaking to police officers at the Oguta Police station,   “Please what we are begging you, the police is to tell the Ebubeagu security outfit to leave our community before they  kill all our youths.

“We are now living in fear. We are killed everyday. Our young people are dying. The Ebubeagu people are killing and shooting our youths. We want to be alive. We don’t want to die in the hands of these Ebubeagu people.

“Come and save us. Tell them to leave our community so that there will be peace in the land. Ebubeagu should go before they make us childless.”

At the time of filing this report, protests were still  going on in parts of the Oguta local government area of the state against the operation of the Ebubeagu security outfit of the government.