APC Reveals Those Behind Killings, Says They Are Not IPOB/ESN.
APC reveals those behind killings, says they are not IPOB/ESN. Information has it that, cultists allegedly recruited by some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in Akwa Ibom during the 2019 elections are behind the recent wave of insecurity in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said.
“We understand that the cult members have since felt abandoned by some of the PDP chieftains who had failed to fulfill the terms of agreement they had with these cult men,” the opposition party said.
“In particular, we are told that the cultists perceive that they have scores to settle specifically with these PDP chieftains, and this explains why some of the LGAs have borne the brunt of these assaults in the Senatorial District since the beginning of the year.”
APC Reveals Those Behind Killings
In the last several months, there has been an upsurge of violence in some parts of Akwa Ibom, particularly in almost all the 10 local government areas of Akwa Ibom Northwest (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.
Police officers have been killed by unknown gunmen, stations burnt, firearms carted away, vehicles destroyed, government offices and property torched and other human beings killed.
Governor Udom Emmanuel has banned the use of motorcycles and tricycles from 6pm to 6am in all the local government areas in the Senatorial District. In other parts of the state, the ban is from 10pm to 6am.
The Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr Andrew Amiengheme recently reported that the Command has lost 21 personnel, 11 vehicles and some firearms, among other items.
Nkereuwem Enyongekere, spokesman for the APC in Akwa Ibom, noted in a statement on May 13 that, “our initial thinking, like every other person, was that this wave of destruction was perpetrated by the separatist group, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), and its militia wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN)”.
“But our Party has received some troubling information that, contrary to our earlier belief, the perpetrators of these violent attacks may not necessarily be IPOB members from the South Eastern Zone of the country; rather, we are also to understand that they are mostly cult members who were employed by some PDP chieftains in Akwa Ibom State during the elections of 2019 to help them create havoc and rig the elections,” the APC said.
“It is however not clear if the current wave of attacks is an offshoot of the orgy of violence that happened a few years ago. What is certain though, is that these attacks have cost valuable lives of our security personnel, drained our resources, scared away investments and given us a bad name.
In our almost 34-year history as a State, this is the first time that Akwa Ibom is listed in the United States government Travel Advisory. This is the shame the PDP government has brought to our state. Akwa Ibom people didn’t vote for this.
“Gov. Udom Emmanuel therefore has a duty to level with our people tomorrow as he addresses the State through his Media Chat programme, Governor Speaks. Who are these cultists; who are their leaders and what exactly are the terms of agreement these PDP chieftains have with the cultists?
Why are these cult activities concentrated in that particular Senatorial District? This is a myth the governor should explain to Akwa Ibomites.
He should also explain the steps he has taken or intend to take to drain the swamp of cultism from the state and his party. Akwa Ibom State deserves better than this,” the party said.
Last week, Governor Udom Emmanuel met with the State Police Command and pledged to donate N60million to the families of the deceased officers.
The APC said the police in Akwa Ibom “deserve adequate funding and equipment to assist them contain with the current security threats”.
APC reveals those behind killings, says they are not IPOB/ESN, can this be true? Do you have any answer to this question?
