The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA Ebonyi State has accused the members of the EbubeAgu Security Network of destroying it’s billboards and harassing it’s supporters in the state.
APGA also called on the various security agencies in the State to urgently investigate the incessant attacks and destruction of it’s campaign billboards by men of the EbubeAgu Security Network.
In a statement sign by the Special Assistant on Media to the APGA Governorship candidate, Mr. Chelsea Otu, the party expressed regrets that despite complaints to various security agencies on the previous attacks by the agents of the state government, no arrest has so far been made.
APGA according to the statement, cautioned the newly-elected Council Chairmen and their Ebubeagu boys to desist from any further attempt to harm any of the Party’s campaign materials or it’s members as that will no longer be tolerated.
“The EbubeAgu Security Network does not have monopoly of violence. They cannot continue to remain a terror to our peace-loving supporters. It is becoming very glaring that contrary to the initial claims that the Ebubeagu was originally formed to wade off Fulani herdsmen’ invasion into Ebonyi and indeed, the South East, it is now obvious that they were trained, equipped and prepared to serve as a vindictive tool against imagined political opponents.
“If their game plan is to intimidate, attack and scare away Ebonyi people, then it is already dead on arrival.
“We have it on good authority that the State Government had during a Thanksgiving service for the newly-sworn in Local Government Chairmen in the State allegedly charged them to hold their various council areas by not allowing oppositions in their localities to thrive”.
Narrating his ordeal, a stakeholder of the party, Hon Collins Agwu said that a team of young men numbering seven had stormed the Okposi Court Area where he and his fellow APGA supporters had wanted to mount a billboard of the APGA Governorship candidate and his Deputy.
“The seven of them all dressed in Ebubeagu attire insisted that they cannot allow us to mount billboards in the Court Area insisting that the place is government owned.
“We had to move to another point within the Okposi Round About to mount the billboard and the Ebubeagu armed members confronted us again.
“Suddenly the boys, all armed with pump action riffles started shooting sporadically and we had to scamper for safety. Some of us sustained varying degrees of injuries while the armed Ebubeagu officials who came in three Sienna vehicles confiscated and tore the flex banners and fled the scene still shooting sporadically into the air”.
Hon Agwu stated that other items made away by the EbubeAgu team include; a full bag of cement, a digger, a pick axe and a cutlass/matchet including two bags of graded stones and one bag of sea sharp sand.
“From there, they leader headed for Ugwulangwu to carry out a similar instruction of destroying a billboard the APGA team had just mounted in the area.
When contacted, the Security Consultant to the State government, Chief Stanley Emegha maintained that political parties are expected to pay for the erection of billboards across the state adding that the billboards were pulled down for non compliance.
He however denied the allegation ofs shootingsporadicallyadding that it was aimed at attracting unnecessary political sympathy.
