South East, Nigeria, the Igbo homeland, is bleeding; millions of commuters, connected a regular basis, are exposed to extortion, with immoderate young men and women victims of cold-blooded murder. Welcome to a portion nether the siege of the constabulary and the military. As a effect of a discriminatory authorities policy, the South East has arguably go the astir militarized portion successful bid clip successful the world.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Across a portion populated by the Igbo, covering 5 states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, hundreds of constabulary and subject checkpoints acceptable up and manned by soldiers and constabulary officers are utilized to harass and extort wealth from commuters; connected a regular basis, commuters are subjected to each mode of humiliation and torture amid forceful disappearances and cold-blooded execution successful immoderate utmost circumstances.
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For respective years, the constabulary and subject are deliberately waging a carnal and intelligence warfare against the people; astatine immoderate of these checkpoints, the constabulary and the subject deliberately hold each vehicles successful immoderate cases for hours earlier extorting wealth from them and letting them disconnected the hook to proceed their journey.
This signifier is widespread, suffocating and shows nary motion of abating. As a substance of fact, for the uniformed personnel, the South East has go the astir lucrative posting to the grade that subject and constabulary officers effort to power their posting to the portion by bribing unit liable for discharging this function.
Today, a syndicate of heartless extortionists successful azygous clasp the portion successful a vice-like grip; they harass the radical to nary extremity and dainty them arsenic cadaver for plus stripping, intimidation and dehumanization. The afloat grade of this unwholesome and pervasive practice, though successful plain sight, has not been sufficiently and afloat documented.
The lone elaborate technological study by a rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), paints a grim representation of the despoilation of commuters successful the region. According to the report, which covered August 2015 to October 2019, a whopping N300 cardinal was paid astatine gunpoint successful a abstraction of 50 months by commuters successful Ala-Igbo to estimated 60 subject and 6,300 constabulary checkpoints successful the South East and South-South regions for the play nether review.
The 2018 study claimed that that the information agencies made implicit N100 cardinal successful the South East by extorting roadworthy users astatine checkpoints acceptable up by them. The Ukwu-Oji subject checkpoint on Owerri-Onitsha Road is 1 of the oldest and astir notorious checkpoints successful the South East; there, stern-looking soldiers deliberately hold commuters for hours earlier demanding wealth from them successful speech for the state to proceed their journey. From Ukwu-Oji down to Owerri Assumpta Road, policemen antheral checkpoints successful 7 locations extorting wealth from commuters.
This siege is replicated successful hundreds of different locations successful the South East successful spite of the information that the portion is not a theatre of war. These checkpoints, for the avoidance of doubt, correspond vestiges of systematic oppression and interior slavery, successful breach of the cardinal freedoms enshrined successful the United Nations Charter and the basal laws of the country.
Given the proliferation of constabulary and subject checkpoints, expectations that it volition pb to driblet successful transgression and criminality successful the portion look to person been misplaced. It is alleged that, successful practice, the constabulary and soldiers manning the assorted checkpoints are informants to kidnappers and road robbers. This alleged unholy confederation should beryllium thoroughly investigated by constituted authorization to get to the basal of this beardown allegation.
The clip has travel for the national authorities to dismantle these checkpoints arsenic they are being utilized to harass and oppress law-abiding citizens. Federal beingness is lacking successful Igboland arsenic a effect of decades of neglect. Rather than checkpoints, the portion needs infrastructure, institutions and strategical engagements that volition make opportunities for jobs successful the region, particularly for the unemployed youth.
The continued militarization of the portion is simply a nonstop effect of the nonaccomplishment of the governmental people and the lack of the governmental volition to request the dismantling of these checkpoints arsenic a cardinal close of the people. No law-abiding national should beryllium shackled oregon constrained the mode the Igbo person been treated successful a state they see their ain but wherever they are seen arsenic outsiders.
In 2019, Chief Nnia Nwodo, the past president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, wrote a missive to erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari and Mohammed Adamu, the past Inspector-General of Police, appealing to them to dismantle the checkpoints.
Unfortunately, the entreaty fell connected deaf ears arsenic thing has been done to reverse this obnoxious policy. Rather than support quiet, this snub should galvanize the governmental enactment successful the South East to summation the unit connected the national government.
History teaches america that the combat against oppression is long-drawn; state from oppression is not served a la carte. It appears to maine that determination is deficiency of appreciation by the circulating Igbo governmental elite of the damaging interaction of the continued militarization of the region.
Apart from the needless deaths of our radical astatine the hands of trigger-happy officers manning these checkpoints, the harm to the psyche of our radical is heavy and incalculable. As a people, we indispensable importune connected the removal of this vestige of oppression and interior slavery. It is astir clip our leaders, including councillors, section authorities chairmen, House of Assembly and National Assembly members, governmental appointees and each players connected the governmental turf, came unneurotic to forge a communal beforehand connected this issue.
In summation to exploring each disposable ineligible remedies, they should importune connected the restoration of the basal rights of the people. This close is inalienable and should beryllium upheld for the cohesion and peaceful co-existence of each strands that marque up the Nigerian society. The Igbo are entitled to bask the basal rights presently being enjoyed by different sections of the country.
The continued attraction of the Igbo with scorn and disdain by the national authorities is liable for the festering restiveness and heightened taste saliency that has taken steadfast basal successful the region. I impulse President Bola Tinubu to measurement up and bring this sedate injustice to an end, successful the tone of fairness, inclusivity and justice. Mr. President, successful lawsuit you person not been afloat briefed, the South East, the Igbo homeland, is nether a mindless and suffocating siege.
The South East, Mr. President, holds the unenviable grounds of the astir policed and militarized abstraction successful the world. The portion arsenic astatine contiguous is being emasculated with a full of 98 subject checkpoints alone, without prejudice to hundreds of constabulary checkpoints.
As you good know, the Igbo are avid travellers, they are successful each nook and cranny of this state and person not seen this benignant of policing and militarization elsewhere. The Igbo merit to unrecorded successful Nigeria successful dignity. I impulse you to instantly nonstop some the constabulary and subject precocious commands to dismantle these oppressive checkpoints.
