Ebonyi govt declares ex fed lawmaker wanted over ‘provocative’ statement

Ebonyi State government has declared a former House of Representatives member in the state, Hon. Linus Okorie, wanted over alleged provocative statement on his Facebook page.

The State government made the declaration on Tuesday after Security council meeting held at the Governor’s office, Ochoudo Centenary City,Abakaliki, attended by security chiefs.

Okorie, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a known critic of Ebonyi State government, represented Ohaozara, Ivo and Onicha federal constituency between 2011 to 2019.

 

Briefing journalists after the State Security Council Meeting (SEC), Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Uchenna Orji, said Okorie, made provocative statements on his Facebook page, which resulted in violence and the killing of an Ebubeagu official, Sunday Nwafor, in Ekawoke Community, Ikwo Council on January 9, 2022.

 

He said; “The council considered a report presented to it on the beheading of Ebubeagu official in Ekawoke, Ikwo Council of the state on January 9, 2022.

“Security council noted the revelations contained in the report and, therefore, resolved to declare Hon. Linus Okorie wanted for the alleged publications and incisive statements, some of which are posted on Facebook and were traced to be part of the publications that resulted in the tension that led to the beheading of the Ebubeagu official.”

 

He said the council noted that some other persons were accessories to the gruesome murder of the deceased, and the council urged security agencies to expedite action on the investigation with a view to bringing all those involved to face the law.

 

In his reaction, Okorie said his life was in danger describing the action of the council, as a plot to silence opposition in Ebonyi State.

 

Noting; “My attention has been drawn to an alleged media briefing by Orji, after a state purported council meeting, in which he was reported to have announced that the council declared one Linus Okorie wanted.

 

“I wish to alert the world that this is another of the artful schemes of Governor Dave Umahi to silence all opposition voices in Ebonyi State by criminalizing its high profile leaders.

“If, indeed, such a decision was taken by the Security Council, one would doubt that the police and other security agencies were represented at such a meeting. This is because it is the duty of the Nigerian Police to investigate crimes and invite all named suspects for interrogation and even when a suspect fails to honor an invitation, there is a clear procedure that must be followed before such a person can be declared wanted by the police and not any security council meeting.”

 

“Let it be known that I have never been invited to answer to any allegations by the Nigerian Police or other security agencies any where in Nigeria.

“Two, without such invitation by the police, I cannot lawfully be declared wanted by any authority for such an alleged crime by the police or any other authority under the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Okorie, noted that declaring him wanted was also a ploy to divert attention from the carnage that Ebubeagu has been meting on the people of Ebonyi State as exacerbated by the recent riots and killings in Akaeze.

 

 

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