The Chairman of Afikpo South Local gGovernment Area of Ebonyi State, Dr. Eni Uduma Chima, has expressed fears over what he described as looming frame up of notable stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party in the State by some desperate members of the opposition All Progressives Congress, which he said was intended for selfish political aggrandisement.
The LG boss said this on Monday when he spoke with newsmen.
He spoke against the backdrop of his arrest by the police over allegations of kidnapping, car snatching and robbery, which he said was orchestrated by a known APC chieftain from his local government area.
Chima noted that allowing such development unabated portends grave danger to the peace of the area in particular and the State in general.
He observed that his arrest with the accompanying allegations, though later failed, could be part of the grand plan by the opposition to trump up charges against prominent members of his party in the State, and expressed fears that they may further reinforce such nefarious plans in a manner that may inflict injury on some highly placed personalities in the party in the near future, if not checked.
He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Department of State Services and other relevant agencies to investigate these damaging allegations leveled against him by some political opponents in his local government area.
Chima lamented: “A case such as kidnapping is very serious.
“It is a capital offence and the penalty is death by hanging in Ebonyi State.
“And when you now use it so frivolously and call out police numbering over 50 to arrest one particular person, the danger is when there is need for police to troop out enmasse they may take it for granted that it is one of those political abuses of the apparatus of state, phantom allegations that are not existent and so their reaction time may not be swift.
“That is the danger.
“Another danger is that when you keep framing people up, it will get to a time they will develop resistance because the police or any apparatus of the state get and sustain their legitimacy from the law, doing what is lawful.
“If they are no more decent and they are used as tools in the hands of desperate and unpopular politicians, they will lose their legitimacy, people may no more volunteer information to them or cooperate with them and at a time people may develop resistance to them up to the extent of them not being able to do arrests.
“Of course, there is no number of policemen that can arrest the entire mass of people when they rise against the state.
“So such situation should be avoided.”
Recall that Chima at the weekend was arrested by a operatives from the Ebonyi State Police Command over what turned out to be trumped up accusation of kidnapping and car snatching, allegedly sponsored by a chieftain of the APC.
Trending
- EFCC withdraws appeal against former Kogi Governor Bello
- Fidelity Bank commends Air Peace’s performance
- How AI, automation, and trusted data are shaping next-generation customer service, by Linda Saunders
- Veteran journalist Ray Ekpu loses wife
- Another Wike loyalist rejects Fubara’s redeployment, resigns as finance commissioner
- Akpabio tasks judiciary on sustainable reforms.
- Ex- judge’s daughter seeks share of late father’s property
- Gusau to committees: Formulate policies, programmes that will help Nigeria’s football grow