South-East Crisis: Ebubeagu Fails To Roar, 62 Days After Formation

The Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, who spoke on behalf of the governors during the announcement in Owerri, had said the establishment of the outfit was part of efforts to tackle insecurity in the region.

The zone has witnessed an increase in insecurity, including attacks on security operatives, their facilities and other critical infrastructure by suspected members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the paramilitary organisation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). There are also reported cases of banditry, farmers-herders clashes, armed robbery, among others.

One of the first reactions to the formation of Ebubeagu was from IPOB which warned youths in the area not to join the security outfit or risk death, insisting that ESN was enough to protect the Igbo land.

Meanwhile, Major-General Obi Umahi (retd), the chairman of the South-East Security Committee, charged to draft a framework for the establishment of Ebubeagu, recently resigned his appointment, citing lack of support from the governors who established the outfit.

The Commissioner for Internal Security, Peace and Border Resolution in Ebonyi State, Stanley Emegha, in an chathe with newsmen recently confirmed that the Ebubeagu security outfit was yet to be officially launched in the region.

Emegha noted that the official launch of the outfit would be done in all the states of the South-East.

“The Ebubeagu security outfit has not been launched, so wait until it is launched. And Ebonyi State will not be the first. It is going to be launched in all the states of the South-East,” he said.