The continuous killing and maiming of innocent citizens of Imo State since the inception of the administration of Governor Hope Uzodinma has put question mark on the mission of the governor in the state, because his utterances each time citizens were killed suggest that the man who detractors refer to as Supreme Court elected governor would leave the state a ghost state by the time he completes his tenure early next year
By Miracle Egbo
Ikenga Ugochinyere is a gadfly that does not take no for an answer. His vituperation against the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC in Imo State is legendary. Ugochinyere, the spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP House of Representatives candidate for Ideato North, South Federal Constituency of Imo State is a thorn in the flesh of the governor of Imo State. On January 14, 2023 Ugochinyere got his patience snapped when there was an alleged state organized killing against his household which left in its wake the death of his uncle and three others.
Ugochinyere, the spokesperson of CUPP and a candidate of PDP in the forthcoming National Assembly election in matter of weeks, had for months now had a running battle with the governor of Imo State. It was gathered that their spat started when the CUPP spokesperson exposed the plan of the governor with the alleged help of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to inflate the number of registered voters in the state with foreign names. Since that revelation, the government of Imo State has not been able to deny the facts presented by Ugochinyere in this regard, the electoral umpire corroborated the claim of the CUPP spokesperson that the voters registration in Imo State is faulty and the commission is doing everything humanly possible to clear the mess and unravel the officers of the electoral umpire responsible for the heist.
In the message he posted around 3.15 pm on January 14, 2023, he wrote: “We need help in Akokwa. We are under attack, my house in Akokwa. They have surrounded it and opened fire. We are under attack. Help, Help”. In another message, he called for help once again notifying the public that his uncle had been killed. His words: “This is to notify the general public that this might be my last act as human being as my house in Umukegwu Akokwa is under heavy attack currently. As I pen this, all the cars in my house are set ablaze and there were heavy shootings for the past 25 minutes. Painfully, as I speak to you, I saw them kill my father’s younger brother, Uncle Dan. I pray and call for urgent help from anybody who can help. The attackers are shooting at everyone in the house and this is an urgent cry for help”.
The spat between the spokesperson of CUPP and the governor of Imo State Uzodinma started when the former revealed the heist of the electoral body in the inflation of the voters register in the state. The feeble response by the spin doctors of the governor in this regard is bereft of sounding reasoning. According to them, Ugochinyere is just a rabble rouser that is seeking for recognition but the response of the electoral umpire dwarfed the orchestrated effort of the Imo State government to sweep the allegation under carpet. In reaction to the revelation according to the spokesperson of CUPP, INEC corroborated his revelation but said that efforts were geared towards clearing the mess occasioned by some corrupt officials of the electoral umpire. INEC further allayed the fears of potential voters in the state that the voters register had been withdrawn and clean one would be issued in the state preparatory for the forthcoming general election.
Information at the disposal of this medium revealed that this is not the first time that the 40 years spokesperson of CUPP would be attacked allegedly at the instance of the Imo State Government. His travails dates back to his days as the President of National Youths Council of Nigeria, NYCN, a position that has earned him several detention in various gulag of the security operatives across the nation. But each detention since then has further enforced his resolve to continue fighting for justice and egalitarian society. Before the attack on his country home, he escaped death by the whiskers when armed men attacked him and his convoy allegedly at the instance of a powerful chieftain of a rival political party on December 23, 2022.
Ugochinyere said that the youths in his community saved him from being killed by the armed men who invaded his country home. He said that the community youths kept vigil in his country home to prevent further attack when it went viral in the state that there was calculated attempt to assassinate him. According to him, “The assassins came in three Siena Vehicles, two tinted Hilux trucks, an Armoured Personnel Carrier around the lonely Obiohia stretch of road, while the team of hooded operatives and thugs rushed at the vehicles in the convoy and ordered all the occupants to disembark.
“The convoy had been going to drop off some supporters of mine who attended my reception and campaign at Akokwa when they were forced out of the road by the gunmen. They searched all the vehicles for me, threatening thunder and brimstone, but I was not in the vehicle. They made preparations to commandeer my SUV away but decided against that after going back and forth to consult with another occupant in the Hilux truck.
“In their frustration, they vandalized, burgled the vehicle and made away with all the valuables and campaign materials in the vehicle. One of them, a well known politician in the state was spotted among them, recording on video with his phone the shameful pathetic drama of desperation. Later on the youths started trooping into my home around 8.30pm following the attack and their numbers have continued to swell. While chanting solidarity songs for Ikenga and Ideato nation, the collective anger has been palpable “, offered Ikenga.
However, the Imo State governor, Uzodinma explained that the attack was the handiwork of the opposition in the state. According to him, he had a security report indicating that the spokesperson of CUPP had been having secret meetings with the unknown gunmen and IPOB separatists whom he alleged are against the conduct of the 2023 general election in the whole South East. Governor Uzodinma alleged that the opposition party in the state has been responsible for the insecurity in the state because” they do not want me to rule the state”.
The Imo State PDP has suspended its campaign for one week as a mark of solidarity to Ugochinyere for the unfortunate attack. The PDP Imo State chapter has concluded plans, according to reports to embark on a peaceful protest to condemn the unfortunate attack on the country home of Ugochinyere by armed gunmen suspected to have been allegedly sponsored by the state on January 14, 2023.
