By Gloria Acholonu (Imo State Correspondent correspondent)
As reactions continues to trail the introduction of South East security outfit known as Ebube Agu, Abia State governor, Dr. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, has explained why the Southeast Governors decided to form the regional security body.
He told Channels TV on Sunday night in Owerri, the Imo State capital, that it was the serious challenges of insecurity in the South East Zone in recent times that made the introduction of the outfit urgent and a priority for the Igbo governors to come up with.
Governor Ikpeazu said the headquarters and the central command of the security outfit would be in Enugu State. He revealed that Ebube Agu, which means the presence of a lion, connotes protection, territorial authority, strength and power. Operatives of Ebube Agu, he said, would oversee and monitor the activities of vigilante groups in the Southeast.
The governor also stated that the operational modalities of the new outfit would be rural-based, and is also going to be intelligence-based. Though he did not confirm or deny if the personnel of Ebube Agu would carry arms and wear uniforms, Ikpeazu however said that what is noteworthy is that the governor in Igboland would cooperate to ensure proper equipment of the outfit and it's overall operational success.
Ikpeazu said: “Ebube Agu would be a security outfit both in name, purpose, and action. They will be properly equipped. I want to assure you that all the states in the southeast already have various vigilante outfits.
“We want to call for a harmonised, synergised system of action to be able to compare notes, to be able to set up digital platforms that can respond to communication challenges.
“It means today we have come together to synergise and see how best we can protect lives and properties of citizens within this geopolitical zone.
“Security situation across Nigeria as it is today is dynamic. We are just trying to respond to our peculiar circumstances in the southeast. We are not copying from any geopolitical zone.”
Governor Ikpeazu also hinted that his state has not witnessed a single case of bank robbery since he became governor in 2015. This, he attributed to the success of his administration in the area of provision of adequate security to the deployment of gatekeepers in various communities whose job is intelligence gathering. He described Abia as one of the safest states in the country.
Part of the success the state has recorded in security, according to the governor, is attributed to the support the state government has accorded the police, NSCDC, the military, and other security outfits in the state
Ikpeazu also disclosed that the state’s Security Council has resolved to operate in synergy with the security agencies to put in place a joint team of the military and para-military agencies to be on patrol across major cities in the state, particularly Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia.
Meanwhile, some stakeholders from the South East Zone have reacted to the formation of Ebube Agu Security Network by the governors
While some have commended the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for being proactive in confronting the surging insecurity in the region, some respondents however urged governors in Igboland to equip the outfit for efficient operations.
One of them Agadenyi Charles Nwodo, former national chairman of the Progressives Action Congress (PAC) said, “Let them implement the scheme very well. It is a welcome development and timely. We have been clamouring for state police, but the federal government said it would introduce an executive bill to bring it to fruition. People should not be in a state of apprehension all the time.
"Communities have to rise, organise themselves and defend themselves to bring about good life within the environment. People cannot watch themselves lose the spirit of community because of insecurity; and allow criminality to be an everyday life.
"Ebubeagu is the only way out if well-conceptualised. As the Amotekun of Southwest has been established, the Southeast now has Ebubeagu Security Network. We expect same in North Central, North East, North West and South South geo-political zones . It is another alternative to state police. It is assumed to be regional policing. We pray that the IGP along with other security agencies will back them up for maximum results. It is the only way to keep Nigeria safe, united and progressive.”
However, Nze Kanayo Chukwumezie, a civil rights activist and governorship hopeful in Anambra State, said, “Our governors should tell us first who heads the Nigerian security outfits in the South East and how effective is their control as governors over them. We all know the chains of command.
“Also we need to know how many of our people head security outfits in other regions. They should rise up and know that no one secures you better than yourself, especially in this country with glaring cases of one tribe doing everything to dominate and control others. The fact remains that we have weak governors and representatives at both state and federal levels.”
Nze Elvis Agukwe, a former commissioner for Information in Imo State, said, “First of all, the political meeting is a clear statement that the Igbo want the president. It has not happened before. Let other Nigerians know that for there to be justice, presidency needs to be zoned to the South East.
“On the new security scheme, I’m happy the politicians were able to make the statement. It is historical. The meeting is an answer to the security challenges in the South East. It is a welcome development if properly managed. It has the tendency to solve our security challenges.
A public affairs analyst, Mr Osmond Onu, said, “The launch of Southeast security network is a welcome development, even though it was almost coming later than expected. Security is everyone’s business. And the most fundamental objective of any government is the security of lives and property of its citizens.
Onu who is also an author, said “If not for the skewed constitution we have in Nigeria, it’s unimaginable that one should be in Abuja and dish out instructions concerning security issues in Enugu. In fact, the 1999 Constitution is the worst legacy of the military administration to Nigeria. Unfortunately, since 1999, politicians, especially our lawmakers, because of their pecuniary gains and primordial sentiments, have refused to tinker the constitution to bring it to the reality of the day.
"But thank God that the South East governors have woken from their deep slumber because necessity they say is the mother of invention The security challenges in South East will be ameliorated. This is because criminal elements have been having a field day because there’s no superior firepower that can challenge them. The initiative needs support to avert it being counter-productive" , he stated. (With additional report from the Sentinel Online). NNL.
