By Emeka Alex Duru
Editor
Apparently rattled by the rising spate of insecurity in the country, especially the gradual encirclement of the South East by criminal elements, the governors and leaders of the zone have come up with a collective initiative to coordinate the security of the area. Code named Ebubeagu, loosely translated as the protective aura of the Lion, the outfit is to coordinate the existing local arrangements by the various states to ensure peace and security in the south east.
The initiative was unveiled by the governors of the region at their security meeting in Owerri, Imo State, on Sunday, April 11. A communique at the end of the meeting, stated that the governors strongly and unequivocally condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the South East. They also condemned the burning of police stations, violent attacks on custodial centres with the unlawful release of inmates, and the killings including security personnel, natives/ farmers and herdsmen.
The governors also expressed solidarity with the federal government in finding solutions to the current security challenges in the country, particularly in tackling terrorism and banditry.
The meeting remarked that the political leadership in the South East has resolved to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone. It stressed that to achieve this, there is a need to galvanise all the relevant stakeholders in the south east, the political class, the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five south east states to ensure total success in the fight against criminality in the zone. In doing this, heads of all the security agencies in the south east have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone.
“The meeting appreciated the formation of South East joint security outfit code-named Ebubeagu, with Headquarters in Enugu to coordinate our vigilante in the South East the communique announced. This is considered the major take-away of the meeting.
Analysts have expressed cautious optimism at the unusual bold step of the governors, especially since their initial outing on the topic, a year ago, did not yield much. All the same, coming on the heels of the recent killing of over 25 residents of Ishielu council in Ebonyi State and other pockets of malfeasance by criminal Fulani herdsmen, the governors must have been understandably jolted from their slumber and rootless good boy disposition to the obviously unperturbed President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government. In a rare manifestation of seriousness, all the five governors of the zone, attended the meeting.
The Owerri outing is not the first time south east governors would be advertising their intention to float a regional security outfit. In February 2020, the governors had vowed to put in place a collective security outfit to guarantee peace in the region. But besides the initial excitement that trailed the announcement, no meaningful development has come from the agenda, more than a year after. The much hyped security platform only existed in imagination, lacking form or character.
They had followed up with an announcement that open grazing had been banned in the area. No action was however taken on this. If anything, the lethargy among the governors seemed to have increased the audacity of the herdsmen to roam the major roads and streets in the zone with their herds, unchallenged.
But with the current tough stance by the governors, it is expected that they will match their words with actions. Experts note in particular that what is required for the proposed regional security body to take off is for the various legislative houses in the south east states to come up with laws legalizing the outfit. That, they say, will be the first step in giving Ebubeagu, the needed form.
