Reps ask COAS and IGP to Investigate Extrajudicial Killings in Imo

The House of Representatives has urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Farouk Yahaya, and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to investigate Imo State extrajudicial killings in communities by suspected security operatives.

Emeka Chinedu, a member of the House, moved a motion of urgent public importance on the subject during the plenary on Tuesday, which was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.

The motion was titled ‘Urgent Need to Inquire into the Invasion, Siege, Unlawful Arrest, and Wanton Destruction of Lives and Property in Five Communities of Ahiazu LGA, Imo State, by Men Suspected to be Law Enforcement Agents.’

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Chinedu moved the motion, mentioning Ihitteafoukwu, Umu Okirika, Oparanadim, Mpam, and Ogbor Umeze in Imo’s Ahiazu Local Government Area had been peaceful and quiet communities within the Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency, with the people known for their agrarian values and hard work.

“The House notes with grave concern the alleged invasion, siege, unlawful arrest, and wanton destruction of lives and property belonging to indigenes of the five communities, which began in the early hours of Saturday, February 12, 2022, by armed men suspected to be law enforcement agents,” Chinedu said.

The primary responsibility of law enforcement agencies is to maintain law and order, not to indiscriminately destroy lives and property or engage in other actions that violate fundamental human rights.

Such Gestapo invasion, siege, and wanton destruction of lives and property following sporadic shootings is becoming more common in the country, particularly in Imo State in Nigeria’s south-east.

“The House is concerned that Nigerians are losing hope and confidence in the country’s law enforcers as a result of high-handedness, unethical behavior, and total disregard for the rule of law and engagements.”

The House is also concerned about reports of bloodshed averted across communities as a result of timely intervention by some community leaders who persuaded youths not to come to the defense of their lives and properties.

“The House is concerned that the danger inherent in one-sided narratives as often packaged by law enforcement agents in such circumstances without thorough investigation is not only unhealthy for democracy, but also an intolerable affront to fundamental human rights, particularly where law enforcement agents can recklessly invade, attack, destroy, and maim before coming up with some frame-up to justify extrajudicial activities,” he continued.

The House is also concerned that further delays in investigating such matters will not only send confusing signals but will also be counterproductive in the long run, especially given that law enforcement agents, like their counterparts around the world, do not have the inalienable right to act lawlessly, waste lives, or plunder the property of the people they are paid to protect.

The House urged the COAS and the IGP to “ensure a thorough investigation into the invasion of five communities in Ahiazu LGA, which commenced in the early hours of Saturday, February 12, 2022, with a view to unraveling the perpetrators of the act, the reason for the invasion, the number of lives and properties destroyed, their offenses, why communities that are not at war must be razed without recourse to the excruciating effect of rendering the innocent homeless as well as depriving the living their breadwinners.