Africa-Press – Nigeria. Activist lawyer Maduabuchi Idam has criticised the position of former Ebonyi State governor and current minister, Dave Umahi, over recent actions taken in Amasiri by Governor Francis Ogbonnia Nwifuru.
In a statement titled “A Date with History,” Idam said he carefully examined Umahi’s remarks defending measures introduced by the Ebonyi State Government in Amasiri, describing the minister’s arguments as contradictory and built on “imperfect analogies.”
Umahi had reportedly justified a series of actions by the state government, including the removal of political appointees, traditional rulers and community leaders; the shutdown of markets, schools and health centres; and the deployment of security forces to the area.
The operations allegedly led to the destruction of private property and communal shrines, arrests of traditional rulers and youths, and reported cases of brutality.
According to Umahi, the steps were necessary security interventions aimed at preventing possible reprisal attacks and protecting residents of the community.
However, Idam argued that the measures appeared punitive rather than preventive, noting that the alleged offence prompting the sanctions had neither been thoroughly investigated nor resulted in any conviction of the affected communities.
The lawyer further faulted reports that pupils were barred from registering for or sitting examinations such as the Common Entrance, WAEC and NECO, and that vulnerable persons including the elderly, pregnant women and the sick were denied access to healthcare services.
He described such actions as excessive and inconsistent with democratic norms.
Idam questioned whether similar measures were adopted during Umahi’s tenure as governor and asked if the former governor would support comparable actions if carried out in his own community or in the hometown of the President.
While affirming his support for the proper administration of criminal justice, Idam maintained that innocent citizens should not suffer collective punishment for offences they did not commit.
He added that political considerations must not be placed above humanitarian concerns.
According to Idam: “I read with keen attention the statement issued by the former Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi, concerning the rash and rush punitive actions executed in Amasiri by his successor His Excellency Francis Ogbonnia Nwifuru.
“In the Minister’s speech, were either a visible contradictions or witty but imperfect analogies.
“According to the Minister’s statement, these actions which include; the removal of political office holders, traditional rulers, and community leaders; the closure of markets, schools and health centers; and the deployment of military operations resulting in the destruction of private property and sacred communal homes including looting of cultural relics and artifacts, the brutalization of citizens, and mass arrests of Traditional Rulers and youths, are proper security measures implemented in the interest of safety of Amasiri people from a possible reprisal attack.
“I do not, by this response, intend to test forbidden limits. But my pen, much like a taxi driver answering a distress call, cannot afford hesitation where human rights are undermined, politicized and relegated. Therefore, my humble response should be permitted.
“Need I remind the Honourable Minister that those measures were pronounced and imposed as punishment for an alleged offence that has neither been properly investigated nor resulted in the conviction of Amasiri communities rather than as legitimate security measures designed to protect innocent residents?
“Yet, as a political godfather indeed, one who by every standard ought to be a father of the State the Minister did not consider it draconian to punitively bar pupils and schoolchildren from registering for or sitting the Common Entrance, WAEC, and NECO examinations or deprive vulnerable people; such as the sick, the old, pregnant women from accessing medical care for an offence they neither committed nor were found guilty of a measure entirely impermissible in any contemporary society.
“To my mind, silence would have been far more golden than tricking the sensibilities of the Amasiri people already at their lowest ebb gasping for help yet he labored strenuously, and quite unsuccessfully, to justify the actions of his protégé.
“I respectfully consider the minister’s statement as either a thin veneer of diplomacy or politics elevated higher than humanity.Howbeit, if the Minister genuinely believes in the position he has taken in this circumstance, my question is: how many similar actions did he take during his time in office, or does he now consider himself to have failed in areas of security during his time as executive governor?
“In fairness to the Senator, I need say that his position was entirely predictable and hardly surprising. After all, what else could anyone really have expected, especially when politics in Nigeria is more of interest than humanity.
“I wish the Minister’s position would remain the same if a similar action were taken against his own community under comparable circumstances, or if he would endorse such a measure in Mr. President’s hometown for offences committed not by every members of the community.”
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