In response to requests from Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has approved several measures that will help the state continue to be one of the safest and least violent in Nigeria.
Hundreds of residents of the Eha-Amufu community in the Isi-Uzo local council of Enugu State peacefully demonstrated in Abuja yesterday to protest the ongoing violence in their region.
Ugwuanyi had asked the IGP, who presided over the ceremony, to seriously consider sending Special Forces of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to Enugu State to help with tackling security challenges in his state during his address at the inauguration of the 76 Police Mobile Force Squadron, Ekwegbe in Igbo-Etiti local council built by his administration within the week.
The governor also wanted to beef up the personnel and firepower of the No. 76 Police Mobile Force, so he asked for extra troops to be sent there.
He also urged the IGP to recall the members of the No. 3 Police Mobile Force who are currently serving on special duty in other parts of the country. He said doing so “will further strengthen its manpower base and improve its crime-fighting capability.”
To aid Police operatives in directly confronting and containing unrepentant criminal elements, the governor asked for the procurement of extra Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), bulletproof vests, helmets, and other protective equipment.
He suggested that the Police Chief explore the necessity for a drone unit, saying that it would help the police fight crime, especially in places with challenging policing terrains.
Ugwuanyi stated that his administration has continued to back and encourage the security agencies in the state, especially the Police Force, in their onerous duty of providing security, citing Section 14 sub-section 2(b) of Nigeria’s constitution (as amended) as the basis for this claim.
In his speech, IGP Baba thanked the governor for the praiseworthy project, stating that it allows the Police Force to do its job more efficiently.
He praised the Squadron’s “better facilities” for the NPF men and officers to carry out their duty.
Ugwuanyi’s requests were taken into account favourably by IGP Baba, who even included additional measures to show gratitude. “I will give you body armour and helmets; above all, I will give you one APC (Armoured Personnel Carriers). These things will be available for collection immediately after the Christmas break.
“We just established the drone section, and we are battling to make it work. As soon as we have established the one in the headquarters effectively, we will see how we can decentralise and if I am on this seat, Enugu will be the first place to be considered,” the Police Chief stated.
Since 2021, many attacks on Eha-Amufu have resulted in the deaths of more than a hundred locals.
Protesters held signs reading, among other things, “Eha-Amufu and communities sack from their home,” “The life of Eha-Amufu people matter, stop the killings,” “PMB, save our community, end the ethnic cleansing,” and “Eha-Amufu people now killed daily.”
While speaking to reporters, Eha-Amufu Peoples’ Forum Chairman IfeanyiChukwu Casmir blamed the killings on the underground activities of certain unidentified armed herders.
According to him, the current wave of violence began on December 7, 2020, when unidentified assailants waylaid a truck on the Eha-Amufu-Nkalagu route and slaughtered its driver and passengers.
Casmir demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari send in the military to prevent retaliation attacks, pointing out that the perpetrators of the heinous act were not members of their community.
He claimed that on December 8, 9, 18, and 19, armed herders raided Eha-Amufu in retaliation for the truck incident, killing everybody they came across and setting homes on fire.
They demanded that the sitting GOC of the 82nd Army Division in Enugu be replaced immediately by someone more qualified. They asked the president to provide such a directive to the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the National Security Adviser.
Further, the forum requested that the President “order key agencies, including National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to swiftly visit Eha-Amufu with remedies to the humanitarian catastrophe created by the attacks.”
To this, they added, “The president should direct the Police and the DSS to investigate thoroughly the killings involving truck passengers in Eha-Amufu on December 7 and take appropriate action or actions; speedily find and arrest the attackers and those behind the attacks in Eha-Amufu on December 8, 9, 18 and 19.
“Direct relevant authorities, including National Boundary Commission to speedily visit Eha-Amufu and resolve once and for all the subsisting land issues between Eha-Amufu and the Benue communities on the one hand, and between the Fulani groups and Eha-Amufu on the other.”