The President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday promised to give justice those that lost their lives in the ongoing crisis in Ebonyi state.
Buhari spoke through the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during a day working visit to Ebonyi state to ascertain the level of killings and destruction at Egedegede and Effium communities of Ohaukwu and Ishielu local government areas respectively.
Addressing the people, Osinbajo noted that those massacred were people that had plans for the day but met their untimely death
He said, “This massacre is very sad indeed and very unfortunate. I am here just not by myself self, I am here also at the direction of Mr. President. At times when things like this happen, when people are killed, when incident like this happen and you feel particularly outraged.
“The reason is that those who have been mercilessly massacred are people like you and I who have hopes and aspiration; young ones, females and children who are people who woke up in the morning and are expected to go about their normal business, they are expected to go out and fend for themselves but they ended up dead not because of anything they have done wrong but because of cowardly wicked act by some other people who live in the same community with them.
“I sympathise with not just the governor and the people of Ebonyi state but in particular people of the communities that have been affected. I think that what we have seen here is very cowardly and wickedness and all of us condemn it and we say that it must not be allowed to happen again.
“The attack of 29th March, when we look at all of these things, one of the things that have occurred to us is what do we need to do to ensure that this kind of thing does not repeat itself? What do we need to do to ensure that these things do not repeat themselves? One is to beef up security and that is very important. Already, we are in conversation with GOC and with the Army about ensuring there is more security provided there.
“Obvisouly, there is a need for greater security provided here, local community themselves must be ready to give more information and prompt information to all the law enforcement agencies so that prompt action can be taking in event that anybody wants to further havoc.
“Let me assure you that we will seek justice on behalf of those who have died not just because they are Nigerians but because they are human beings and deserve justice. Anybody who watches another person killed next to him and does not feel angry and pain and does not feel that the person deserves justice, must answer to God”.
Earlier in a remark, Governor David Umahi thanked President Buhari for responding to their call and enumerated how herdsman attacked the state.
” I want to thank you and thank Mr. President for this prompt action you have taken to visit this peace loving community. We are touched and we are encouraged by this visit. Your Excellency, we wake morning of Tuesday the 30th March to hear the shocking news of the unprovoked massacre of not less than 20. Every day, they continue to discover dead bodies from the bushes around.
“What happened was that these people divided themselves and were going towards the communities so, every okada with the passenger were hacked down. Initially, they were using knives, so nobody knew what was happening until they got to the communities and that’s where they started shooting and that is the time the people got to know and the villagers mobilized and started pursuing them.
“ I was told when we visited that the murderers left a telephone, even three days later, the telephone was still ringing and I am happy that what the communities have been hiding from government, they have given it to you and I am told it contains the call logs, it contains pictures of the murderers, it contains their contacts; who are they calling, who is calling them? Your Excellency, these things are enough to get these people apprehended.”
