Peaceful agitation by IPOB, MASSOB, ESN has been hijacked by bandits – Umahi

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Dave umahi, Arewa Youths, 2023

David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State says the Southeastern region wants to be a part of a fair Nigeria and not war.

According to him, the situation in the Southeast is a mixture of reality, fake news and war propaganda.

Speaking on Thursday at a media briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team in the Statehouse in Abuja, Umahi said, “in the Southeast, we don’t want war, we don’t want to secede, we want to be a part of a fair Nigeria where justice, equity, and freedom exist”.

Umahi said that peaceful agitation for a better region by IPOB, MASSOB, and the eastern security network in the east was hijacked by bandits and escalated.

“Are there rightful agitations in the Southeast. Yes. Has it turned violent? Yes. It’s been hijacked”.

According to him, foreign herders have infiltrated the country and are causing mayhem. “Anyone who is against the ban on open grazing is saying the killings in the country should continue”.

He insisted that the establishment of security outfit, Ebube Agu which has been passed into law in Ebonyi state is empowered to arrest anyone found culpable of steering chaos, Channels TV reports.

The governor further points out that there are no grazing routes in the south that would enable cattle move freely without trespassing and encouraging open grazing is synonymous with enabling armed foreign herders to perpetrate killings in the country.

He called for funding on cattle ranches through the Federation Account.