Onyike spoke on Tuesday during the inauguration of a seven-man Fact-finding and Intervention Committee under the auspices of Edda People’s Assembly to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the recent killings in the area.
Onyike alleged that the group was found on Sunday attempting to lynch and bury a young man from one of the communities in the area if not for the intervention of hunters from the bush.
He therefore called on the State Government to, as a matter of urgency, ban the group which he further described as “More Can Be Done” killer squad, operative in the area, adding that only by so doing can the government prove its sincerity in resolving the crisis in the clan.
Onyike said: “I also appeal to the State Government to ban the More Can Be Done killer squad existing in the area, if it is honest in quelling the crises.
“Even as we are still discussing the death of the four boys in the area, the More Can Be Done boys, on Sunday, pounced on another young boy, Sunday Nnachi Oji, a JSS student of Comprehensive Secondary School, Ogwuma village, in Ekoli Edda community.
“The evil boys beat him up to the state of coma and were about to bury him alive when hunters in the bush chased them away and rescued the boy.”
Onyike, who lauded the inauguration of the Committee, said its report would help to establish the true nature of the crisis in the area.
Meanwhile, the Committee has George Ukpai as Chairman and Dr. Ama Udu as Secretary.
Others include Nnachi Okporie, Pauly Ukpa, Dr. Douglas Nnachi, Justice I.P. Chima and Justice Omaka Elekwa as members.
The Committee’s terms of reference include, but not limited to identifying those financing and funding the groups, those directly or indirectly involved in the killings and to recommend measures to forestall future occurrences of such killings/crisis in the area.
Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State is a one-clan Council area, housing only the Edda speaking people in its diverse communities.
Reports has it that not less than four persons have been killed in the area between March 27, 2020 and May 6, 2020 in controversial circumstances.