By: John Alechenu. Punch, March 14, 2016
A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, has appealed for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention to avert further loss of lives in Rivers State. Nwuche made the appeal in an interview in Abuja, on Sunday. He was reacting to the rising spate of killings, beheadings, assaults, rape and a threat to general law and order in the state.
While condemning the rise in criminal activities in the state, the former lawmaker said it was sad that the sponsors and perpetrators of these heinous crimes were still roaming the streets. He also faulted claims that the killings were cult-related. Nwuche said, “Who are these cultists? Do they include the hundreds of victims of such heinous crimes as hordes of defenceless aged men and women killed in Omoku and the 14 persons recently murdered in cold blood at Ula Upata, Ahoda East Local Government Area?”
According to him, it would also be of interest to probe in order to find out why most, if not all, of the victims are members or sympathizers of the opposition All Progressives Congress. He explained that violent crimes, such as murder, rape, kidnapping and armed robbery have been on the increase and were threatening the peace and stability of the state. The ex-lawmaker said the penetrators of these heinous crimes have grounded the social and economic life in the area, thus making life more difficult for the already traumatized people.
Nwuche said, “The level of crime in Rivers State is astronomically high. It is epidemic, ranging from assassination, kidnapping, rape, extortion, armed robbery and kidnapping, among several other heinous crimes.”