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The South-East Governors are back at it more than a year after they started the ineffective Ebubeagu security organization.
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Exactly in April 2021, the governors met in Imo State after a rash of attacks by herdsmen and unidentified gunmen.
To combat insecurity in the region, they established Ebubeagu regional security after the summit.
Dave Umahi, the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and the governor of Ebonyi State, told reporters following the meeting that the unified vigilante force for the Southeast would be in charge of regional security, and that Enugu State would serve as its headquarters.
Governors from Abia State, Willie Obiano, Anambra, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ebonyi, Dave Umahi, and the host governor, Hope Uzodinma, as well as Professor George Obiozor, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, and senior security leaders from the region were present.
But according to Cezzatech, the Ebubeagu stopped roaring a year later. Only Imo and Ebonyi States had been developed, and locals had depressing stories to share. However, before the start of Ebubeagu, Enugu had established a Forest Guard.
The governors allegedly turned the Ebubeagu organization into an assassination squad to target members of opposition parties.
Apart from the charges of abuse, the Ebubeagu was unable to secure the governors’ backing, which led to the resignation of Major General Obi Umahi (ret.), the chairman of the South-East Security Committee. Umahi was chosen to oversee the organization’s efforts in the region.
The South East Governor’s Forum chairman received a letter from Umahi on June 4, 2021, headlined “Resignation as Chairman South-East Security Committee – Ebube Agu,” in which he stated that his committee had never received funding and had been operating without an office for the duration.
“SE governors announced the foundation of Ebube Agu at Owerri on April 11, 2021,” he had stated. The SE Security Committee members and the attorneys general of the five SE States then reviewed the proposed legal framework created by the 21-person committee to make sure it was appropriate for the South East Ebubeagu Security organization.
“During the security of South-East Governors’ Forum, which was attended by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and some other Igbo leaders, the SE Security Committee carefully planned and submitted the modalities, including the structure, for the takeoff of Ebube Agu. This was done with the request that Ebube Agu be jointly launched urgently and also funded by the governments of the five South-East states. Since its beginnings, SE Security Committee has never received any funding of any kind, not even an office.
It was obvious that Ebubeagu as a regional organization was gone with his abrupt and surprising resignation.
The death of the regional organization “opened the way and reinforced the public’ faith in the Eastern Security Network, ESN, created by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,” security expert Gilbert Ndukwe stated in a statement on the situation.
“Since nature abhors a vacuum, as you are aware, the IPOB took advantage of the governments’ lack of political will to work together to address the insecurity in the region. Despite being a non-state actor, the ESN won praise from the locals since they considered it as their only option.
“It is a significant disadvantage that the Ebubeagu was unable to acquire traction in the South-East, as opposed to the Amotekun, which is thriving in the South-West.”
The Governors reportedly convened once more on Sunday and declared that a joint patrol was being formed, according to Cezzatech.
They have previously lamented the state of insecurity in the area and urged the Federal Government to act quickly.
With the actions of unidentified gunmen and kidnappers who are allegedly of Fulani ethnicity, the South-East has been under siege. They have been attacking citizens in Enugu more frequently lately after going on the rampage in Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra.
In a meeting conducted behind closed doors at Government House in Enugu, the governors urged the federal government to act quickly because the 2023 elections were drawing near.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, and Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, who is also the chairman of the South East Governors Forum, attended the meeting. The governors of Anambra and Imo states, Professor Charles Soludo and Senator Hope Uzodinma, were each represented by a deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim
The governors decided to establish a continuous combined patrol in all of the South East’s important roadways, especially around the Christmas holiday.
Speaking, Governor Umahi said that the “South East governors bemoaned the level of insecurity in the region,” noting that “kidnapping and wanton killing have become the norm of the day.” He also noted that economic activity in the area has ceased.
The governors did not stop there; they asserted that “South East Governors Forum jointly founded Ebubeagu and Forest Guards not ESN” and denied any connection to the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Therefore, it is incorrect for anyone to imply that South East governors were responsible for the creation of ESN.
The fact that Prof. Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra, was noticeably absent from the meeting—the first since taking office—was, however, puzzling.
Comrade Kindness is the South-East Regional Coordinator for the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO). Jonah’s dissatisfaction was obvious.
The Governors don’t seem prepared to address the insecurity in the zone, he told DAILY POST. Why they would convene a meeting simply to produce such a meaningless communiqué is beyond me.
“These are the same people that established Ebubeagu, but a year later, we saw nothing concrete aside from the exploitation of the group to stifle resistance. What is the difference now that they are referring to joint patrol? You can tell that they are merely catering to the crowd.
“Those governors need to take accountability for their main duty, which is to safeguard lives and property. This never-ending circle cannot continue; it is dishonorable.
The type of kidnapping occurring in the zone is despicable. Where is their so-called Ebubeagu when the kidnappers are robbing people everywhere, including students, even though you don’t support ESN and have Ebubeagu?
“A coordinated security patrol is now in place. Who will give it orders and exercise ultimate power? Will the Federal Government continue to be at the top of the chain of command? It is a waste of time and money to create a new body.
He added that the conference will not produce any results because Governor Soludo and his colleague from Imo were not present.
“How do you account for Soludo’s absence from the first meeting conducted after he took office? His predecessor also took this path. You can tell it’s scripted since they seem to have any faith in the encounter. Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, has a history of skipping events. It demonstrates their lack of unity and their stark split. They may have merely met there to talk politics. It all comes down to financial interest. The three governors in attendance are in their second terms. The others withdrew.
“Uzodinma has an inferiority complex; because of how he entered the country, he does not feel secure enough to engage with the Igbos. Instead of meeting with the Igbos, he would prefer to lean toward the North.
This demonstrates unequivocally that the gathering is nothing more than a jamboree. The region’s security issues seem to have the Governors powerless to address them. Let’s wait and see what the results of the aforementioned joint patrol are now that Ebubeagu has been openly ejected, Jonah continued.
Residents claim that they are closely observing the results of the recently initiated joint patrol as insecurity tries to take over the area.
