The reign of ‘unknown’ gunmen in gov’t houses: A revelation according to Senator Okorocha [Article]

By Samson Atekojo Usman

Since last Sunday, when security operatives fully masked stormed St. Peters Anglican Church, Obiere, Eziama in Nkwerre Local Government Council of Imo State and abducted Senator Rochas Okorocha’s son-inlaw, Hon. Uche Nwosu, the media knows no rest over revelations of deadly gang operating inside Imo State Government House, supervised by the Chief Security Officer to the State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.

Senator Okorocha who represents Imo West Senatorial district and the former governor of Imo State for eight years has revealed it all, that his son-in-law who was at an outing service at a Church was abducted by security operatives who are answerable to his political rival and governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, and they did the unthinkable fully masked. He said, if not for the social media that were monitoring developments and were updating Nigerians, his son-in-law would have been killed by the ‘unknown gunmen’. According to Okorocha, the abductors threatened to kill Uche Nwosu when he was being driven from Owerri to Enugu before being airlifted to Abuja.

Okorocha asserted that the operatives were supervised by the Chief Security Officer to governor Uzodinma, who’s name is simply Shaba. He further revealed that the operatives speak Hausa which Nwosu understand their conversation while he was being driven to Enugu on that horrorful Sunday.

Truly, when known security operatives masked themselves and stormed a place whisking away their target after sporadic shooting, amid intimidation and humiliation of innocent civilians like it happened at the St. Peters Anglican Church and and their target was killed with his body dumped on roadside, it would have been labelled as “unknown gunmen”. The Eziama incident was a terrible one and it speaks of impunity by governor Hope Uzodinma against his own people, he sworn to protect. A one dastardly act, too many; a manifestation of obsessive power.

In recent months and weeks, Imo State, one among the five South East States has been the epicentre of killing and maiming by the so-called unknown gunmen. Political rivalries should have limit for the sake of humanity. Innocent blood has been shed as a result of mundane political pursuit. No day passes with killing in Imo State. Who are those behind these incessant killings?

As Okorocha would asked: Hope Uzodinma should tell the world who killed Gulak, who killed those 5 traditional rulers.

“The Camp of the Unknown gun men discovered recently in Imo is less than 2 kilometers from the House of the Governor Hope Uzodimma, I am shocked that as Chief Security officer of the state, he doesn’t know it exist in his backyard. A Camp where 5 traditional rulers were killed, people should ask Hope”

“Those officers who kidnapped Uche Nwosu brought him out of the Vehicle on their way to Enugu and wanted to shoot him, they pointed the gun at him and nearly killed him, they were speaking Hausa and didn’t realize Uche speaks and understand Hausa too, what Saved him was the social media…ask yourself again, who the unknown gun men in Imo State are.”

Does Nigeria still run a sane society? If it does at least, for once, the killer squad is in Imo State Government House should be dismantled by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba Alkali as no reasonable person can swallow what happened last Sunday with hook line and sinker that any responsible government can behave that way.

It’s incumbent on the IGP to take step towards saving the image of the Police and do not allow politicians not only in Imo State, but anywhere else to drag its operatives their dirty politics. What is happening in Imo State to say the least is dirty politics. A kind that is unknown to democracy anywhere in the world.

If the growing monster in Imo government house in the guise of security detail is tamed, it would be easy for detectives to detect killing by ‘known or unknown’ gunmen. The killing of the Northern based politician, Ahmed Gulak; the killing of over five traditional rulers in Imo and numerous prominent men are still fresh with no idea of those who were behind their assassinations.

Uche Nwosu, a victim of abduction was rude shocked and reveal what he encountered in hands of his abductors saying: “I was taken to the Police Tactical Squad office in Abuja, where I was told by the police that “Someone wrote a petition against me (Nwosu), that I was supplying arms to militants and giving them money.”

He demanded full investigation by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba Alkali, as he was never invited by the Police over the petition against him.

Uche also demanded for investigation of the private jet used to fly him from Enugu to Abuja. This is even as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, described as a sacrilege, the alleged abduction from a Church service, condemning the act in its entirety.

IPOB said the abduction has exposed the masterminds of insecurity in Imo State, adding that it is a vindication that IPOB and Eastern Security Network, ESN, are not responsible for the numerous attacks, abductions/kidnappings in the state contrary to alleged false accusations and propaganda by the state government against the pro Biafra group.

Narrating his ordeal, Nwosu said: “The petition the Police said was from somebody stated that their reason for arresting me was that I was supplying arms to militants and giving them money. The whole plan was cooked up in Imo State Govt House. The security men attached to the Government House, one Shaba was behind this plot.

“The plot was to humiliate me and malign my image. No security man from Abuja or the state command came for that operation. Those security officers were all security men attached to the government of Imo State.

“A normal policeman cannot behave the way they did. They came and shot inside the church which no professional police officer would do. They shot anyhow. They are a killer squad from the Government House.

“Nobody invited me or called me on phone. I would have answered but I did not receive any invitation from the police. So, just like that, they came, arrested me and handled me like a criminal and treated me like I have committed an offence.

“I want the Inspector General of Police, IGP, to investigate the person who ordered for my arrest and the owner of the private jet and who paid for the private jet that took me from Enugu to Abuja. They took me to the tactical squad office and the IG sent somebody to come and interview me and I gave my statement. From what I gathered, the IG was not properly briefed on what was going on.”

Usman can be reached on ateko2007@gmail.com