Douglas Blessing, Port Harcourt
A Port Harcourt based non profitable organisation, Civil Rights Council (CRC) has expressed worries over a recent attack on a octogenarian, Elder Christopher Igwe, at his hometown in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The group in a statement made available to Journalists on Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, revealed that the victim, Igwe was attacked by some youths of the community between August 28 – 29, this year.
In the statement signed by its Chairman, Sebastian Kpalap, the group revealed that the youths who allegedly claimed they are not afraid of the police or other security agencies intervention, said they vandalised the house of Igwe, head Omuegbelegbe in Omuogorowhor Omuordu community, and also destroyed his properties worth millions of naira.
The group accused one Azubuike Wali to have allegedly led the attack on the 87 year old Igwe.
The statement reads:”The organization has received disturbing reports of the prevailing situation in many villages in Ubima community involving the gross abuse of constitutionally guaranteed rights, the rule of law and human rights in general.
“Of particular interest was the event of 28th and 29th of August, 2023 when some community youths invaded the premises of Elder Christopher Igwe the head of Omuegbelegbe in Omuogorowhor Omuordu Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State leaving the compound of the 87 year old Elder Christopher Igwe in a sorry state of vandalism and destruction.
On the said date on 28th August 2023 around 9:00pm, one Mr. Azubuike Wali the head of OSPAC otherwise called Ubispac that is Ubima Security Planning and Advisory Committee in the company of four (4) others and many other youths unknown in the community destroyed the entire economic trees in the compound of Elder Christopher Igwe.
“Not satisfied with this level of rapacious annihilation of valuable economic trees they descended on the water bole hole, water tank and some other facilities attached to the house of the said Elder Christopher Igwe and got it totally damaged after breaking windows and some other fixtures in the house.
During these untoward acts of barbarism the group boasted that the police cannot do anything as they tapped current from the highest voltage of the Nigeria Police Force”.
Kpalap further disclosed that in the course of the attack, the octogenarian was driven out of his compound together with his aged wife and other members of his household.
The civil rights group however, urged “security agencies to investigate the incident and many other similar developments on the leadership of the community, ruling class elements and business or dominant economic interest therein to dig deeper into the remote and immediate causes of the crisis while making efforts to arrest and interrogate the perpetrators”.
They also reinstate their position that “all aggrieved persons in the community should seek appropriate legal redress from necessary state institutions and department to wit: The Nigerian Police, The Law Court, Arbitral Institutions and where necessary from the Department of State Security Services, and avoid conducts capable of compromising the security of the community”.
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