The indigenous people of Effium autonomous community, yesterday called on the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Garba Aliyu to announce to the world in the next 24 hours those culpable in the missing and eventual death of the five NELAN contractors handling the ring road project.
They made the call in a statement signed by the Chairman of Effium Indigenous Vanguard, Messer Godwin Ogaba, the Secretary, Isih Martins, and made available to journalists in Abakaliki.
According to them, there have been accusations and counter- accusations of whether it was the indigenous people of Effium autonomous community that murdered the five contractors or the Ezza residents in Effium.
The statement reads, “After the NELAN-5 consultants got missing at a village inhabited by Ezzas, after November 3, 2021, we accused with the Ezzas and their warriors of being behind it, but they denied it. And we have it on good authority that the police have exhumed the remains of the contractors since February 19 and know those behind the killings.
“When on November 28, 2021, the security team that was investigating the NELAN-5 missing was attacked and four of them killed, we accused the Ezzas and Chinedu Awo of being behind it and they denied again. But today, we have been vindicated.
“The police if it has not compromised on this matter, they should tell the world through a world press conference the role of Chinedu Awo and Ezza stakeholder on the death of the five NELAN contractors.
“When Rev. Fr. Timothy Ngwuta (an Ezza Catholic priest of Abakaliki Diocese) was arrested by the Ebonyi State Police Command over his involvement in the recovery of one of the hilux vehicles used to attack the police on 28th November, we cried out how top Ezza stakeholder in government connived with the Rev. Fr. to do that dirty job.
“Ezzas denied it and they pressured the state government to order the release of Fr. Ngwuta, leaving behind, two others who accompanied him, Chukwuka Nwali and Moses Umanyi in custody.
“We also call on the Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki Bishop Peter Nworie Chukwu to swiftly investigate the complicity of Rev. Fr. Timothy Ngwuta in the killings of the five contractors. Otherwise, it would be glaring how the whole Ezza connived to cut the lives of the engineers in their prime”.