The Ebonyi State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Monday, described as dangerous and ridiculous the reaction of the police regarding the abduction of Hon. Linus Abaa Okorie, the Labour Party Candidate for the 2023 Ebonyi South Senatorial election, byEbubeagu operatives.
Okorie, who is contesting against Ebonyi State Governor, Engr David Nweze Umahi, was on Sunday morning abducted by Ebubeagu operatives as he was driving out of his Abakaliki residence to meet with his supporters in the Onicha Local Government Area of the state.
However, following public outcry, the police, in a statement on Monday, said Okorie was arrested and not abducted.
In a swift reaction to the explanation by the police, the PDP in a statement by its factional chairman, Silas Onu, faulted the police’s defense of Ebubeagu, saying that the police action signaled danger for residents of the state ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The statement reads, “When the APC Militia Ebubeagu commits a crime and is exposed by the masses, the Ebonyi State Police Command creates a cover-up for them by claiming that arrest was made and handed over to them. That is after the victim has been dehumanized by Ebubeagu. Police even go further to threaten citizens for crying out.
“This is a well-scripted strategy to kill the people of Ebonyi over the 2023 election. The Police are not neutral, they have taken sides with APC. No one is safe anymore in Ebonyi as Ebubeagu now performs the functions of the Police 100% in Ebonyi State.
“The Police is now the second responder in tackling crimes and criminalities. They are now incapable of tracking down those they wish to arrest. It is now the very well-equipped and highly professional militia wing of the APC that does all the Police detective and arrest job and then hands it over to the main Police, who have surrendered their duty to politicians. If this is a good development, time shall tell.
“The sudden gangster-like abduction of Linus Okorie cannot be treated with levity and gratuitously denied by the Ebonyi State Government as an arrest by NDLEA. Government agencies have a clear and recognizable modus operandi. The world should know that this is a known attitude of the Ebonyi State government and they are poised to ensure the enforced disappearance of anyone who is not a member of the APC in Ebonyi State.
“Any physical attack, unlawful arrest, and acts of enforced disappearance that will occur in Ebonyi State in the build-up to the 2023 General Election can only be carried out by the State government through its militia Ebubeagu arm. Sadly, it seems like the Ebonyi State Police command has become complicit in the planned annihilation of the Ebonyi people.
“All we can hope for is that the people will defend themselves as we continue to call on the federal government to intervene in Ebonyi State before it becomes a lawless State.
“The press statement by the Ebonyi State Police Command is nothing but a confirmation of complicity and connivance with Ebubeagu. God help Nigeria, especially Ebonyi State.
“I call on all the gubernatorial candidates of the various political parties in Ebonyi State, of course except the beneficiary of violence – APC, to issue a joint press statement condemning these distasteful acts and calling for the reorganization of the Ebonyi State Police Command with immediate effect. If nothing is done, then Ebonyi will be a killing field come 2023.”
Meanwhile, Okorie’s kidnap has been generating tension and anxiety in his Onicha council area of the state.
Videos currently trending on social media showed women and youths in the council protesting and blocking major roads.