BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
GOVERNOR David Umahi of Ebonyi State has said that government officials arrested during the Effium and Ezza Effium communal clash in Ohaukwu Council Area of the state will remain in detention till normalcy returns.
Umahi assured residents that those involved in wasting the lives of the people would also be charged for murder.
He said this just as he ordered the immediate deployment of food items and other relief materials to victims of the communal clash.
Also to be distributed are clothing and cash sums to mothers, girls above 18 years, and men above 60 years.
Umahi directed an enumeration of houses of all widows and fathers above 70 years old that were burnt for his immediate attention.
He also approved the construction of a Permanent Army checkpoint in Effium community to protect the people.
His Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, made the disclosure in a press release, in which the Governor appealed to all those who ran away from their communities to return, noting that adequate security was now in place.
He reiterated that his administration welcomed constructive oppositions and criticism as part of democracy but warned that fake news against his person and the state would be challenged in court to strengthen democracy.
Recall that no fewer than eight persons were killed at the weekend, 60 suspects arrested while eight houses were destroyed as a result of the Communal clash between Effium community and their Ezza Effium neighbours in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The State Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, made the disclosure at the Command Headquarters, Abakaliki, while parading the suspects before newsmen at the end of the Joint Military/Police raid of the crisis-ridden communities.
The raid was led by the State Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe; Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba; Commissioner for Internal Security, Stanley Emegha; and Secretary to the State Government, Kenneth Ugballa, among others.
The CP attributed the crisis to leadership crisis rocking the local chapter of the NURTW, which culminated in a communal crisis.
“Actually, it is a communal crisis emanating from two communities. What fueled it was the leadership crisis rocking the local chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the area,” he said.
