By PETER OKUTU
ABAKALIKI—OVER 200 community members of Okpuma village in Amangwu Edda autonomous community of Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Monday, staged a protest outside Government House and headquarters of State Police Command over alleged killing of one of their kinsmen and arrest of three others by a Joint Military/Police patrol in the state.

The protesters, who carried several placards with different inscriptions, including “Our Governor please help us”; “Her Excellency come to our aid”; “Okpuma people are peace loving” and “Okpuma village is crying for help”, also chanted songs which reflected their moods.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mr. Sunday Agbanu alleged that members of the state military/police patrol team invaded their village and shot indiscriminately, killing one person and arresting three others, based on the invitation of Fulani herdsmen who misinformed the security personnel that some Fulani herdsmen were being held hostage by the villagers.

Agbanu said after the killing and arrest of their kinsmen, the joint patrol team took those arrested to the State Police Command, Abakaliki, where they were dumped and labeled kidnapers. He noted that

instead of the Fulani people coming to make peace, they invited the joint military/police patrol, claiming that the villagers kidnapped their herdsmen.

He gave the name of the deceased as Alum Amadi, while those arrested and detained at the State Police Command as Eluu Oko Nnachi, Egwu Oko Egwu and John Oko Amadi.

However the protesters were stopped at the gate of Government House Abakaliki by security men while the aide-de-camp (ADC) to the governor directed them to the State Police Command opposite the Government House since, according to him, those arrested were being detained there.

At the State Police Command, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. John Ukie Eluu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told the protesters to remain calm and law abiding as the

matter was already being investigated.

Eluu further assured that those arrested would be released after investigation on the matter adding that the involvement of both the Military and Police in the matter made it a sensitive case which demanded lots of ingenuity to handle.