New Telegraph

Attacks prelude to genocide, says ex-DIG, Okoye

Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police Ozo Celestine Okoye, yesterday said that he has been vindicated following the killings by the recently herdsmen in Ebonyi State. Okoye had a week ago raised the alarm in an interview published by Saturday Telegraph that there are 332 Fulani herdsmen settlements in the five states of the South East and heavily armed with AK-47, warning that the governors of the five states and security operatives in the area should expedite actions in beefing up security in the zone to avoid any attack.

Okoye further expressed fears that the Ebonyi massacre is a prelude to what he called a looming genocide in Igbo land, insisting that it is not too late to arrest the situation. “When I said that there is a looming genocide being plotted by the herdsmen a lot of people said that I was over heating the polity and trying to unsettle Igbo land. “Today what is happening? They have started and I was not surprised that it started in Ebonyi State which I said has the highest number of Fulani settlements in the South East.

“Let us not be deceived by whatever anyone is saying that they are in control of the situation because it was the same thing they said before the herdsmen stormed Ebonyi State. ‘‘All the governors of the South East are aware of the presence of the herdsmen in the South East who are heavily armed with AK-47 ready to launch attacks on Igbo land and the earlier they take action the better for our people.’’

Okoye further lamented that the corruption in the police and other security formations in the country has made it difficult to fight insecurity in Nigeria, adding that those security personnel who are prepared and battle ready to discharge their duties are always frustrated and never deployed in those security flash points.

“What are you talking about? There is corruption in the system and even in the services across the country and those who know the job and are battle ready to fight insecurity are frustrated and they are nev-er posted to those security flash points.

‘‘I was a victim while in the police when I was heading the mobile police base in one of the states and I got a distress call about armed robbers operating in one area. ‘‘I succeeded in rescuing the victims and arrested them and one of the robbery suspects died during exchange of gun fire and my superior queried me for going there because my unit was not in charge of the anti – robbery unit. ‘‘So the issue here is that we are not ready to fight insecurity in the country and the bandits are having a free day,’’ he said.

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