Senate directs Police, Army, DSS to go after criminals terrorising Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State

By Cosmas Chukwu

The Nigerian Senate this Wednesday (May 15) passed a resolution urging the inspector-general of police, the chief of army staff and the director-general of the Department of State Services to investigate, arrest and prosecute the criminal elements terrorising Uzo-Uwani local government area of Enugu State.

This followed a motion moved by Distinguished Senator Okey Ezea, representing Enugu North district, for the Senate to wade into the incessant killings in Uzo-Uwani.

In the emotion-laden motion, Senator Ezea brought to the attention of Nigerians the recent carnage in Uzo-Uwani LGA, especially in Nimbo community, where four people were gruesomely murdered and many others wounded. He rallied his colleagues to condemn the dastardly act, while also urging the Senate to pass a resolution directing that the law enforcement agents be compelled to redouble efforts in apprehending the fleeing assailants.

After debates on the motion, the Senate accordingly resolved as follows:

“1. Urge the Inspector General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff and the Director-General of the Department of State Services to investigate, arrest and prosecute the criminal elements terrorising the local government;

“2. Urge the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Army Staff to urgently establish police and military presence in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area to put a permanent stop to the incessant killings;

“3. Mandate the Senate committees on Legislative Compliance, Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence to ensure compliance and proffer lasting solutions;

“4. Urge the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to urgently provide relief materials to the victims of the Uzo-Uwani killings to cushion the effects of these unwarranted attacks.”

Several killings in both Adani and Nimbo communities by rampaging herdsmen in recent times have put the people of both communities in grief and fear. The first major attack on the LGA occurred on April 25, 2016, when 46 persons were killed by the herdsmen at Nimbo. Killings and abductions have continued in the local government area despite promises by the state and the federal governments to find a lasting solution to the problems.

There is currently growing tension in the local government area, and this has culminated in palpable fear that, due to the contributions of Uzo-Uwani to the food basket of the nation, the persistent killings, if allowed to fester, may exacerbate the food insecurity of the nation. It is also feared that the abandonment of the affected communities by the locals for urban areas will add to the growing menace of rural-urban migration in the country.