The Ebonyi State Government has described as a miscarriage of justice the Tuesday judgment of the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, which disbanded the Ebubeagu Security outfit in the state.
Reacting to the judgment delivered by Justice Riman Fatun, the state government said it was dead on arrival.
The Ebonyi State Commissoner for Information, Mr Uchenna Orji, and the Special Security Consultant to the State Government, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, who addressed a press conference on Wednesday, said there was no cause for alarm over the judgment.
The disbandment, newsmen reports, was as a consequence of several alleged human rights abuses, extortion, illegal arrest and illegal use of firearms by the security outfit.
The court ordered the Ebonyi State Government to, as a matter of urgency, pay the sum of N50m to a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Chief Abia Onyike, who the security outfit, in November 2022, allegedly abducted and tortured for over two hours in the state.
The plaintiff had, through his counsel, Micheal Odo, approached Justice Fatun, asking that the court should determine “whether the Ebonyi State House of Assembly has the constitutional powers to enact the Ebonyi State Ebebuagu Security Agency Law No. 005 of 2021, having regard to the provisions of item No. 45 of the Second Schedule (Exclusive Legislative List) in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the National Security Agencies Act (Cap. N78) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
The commissioner, “The judgment is a miscarriage of justice, abuse of court processes and misapplication of the law.
“Ebubeagu has legal backing to its existence and operations, not only in Ebonyi but the entire South-East. We will not hesitate to go to the supreme Court to know who is right in this circumstance.”
Also speaking, Okoro-Emegha expressed optimism that the appellate court would reverse the verdict in due course.
He urged politicians to stop playing with the security of society, irrespective of the party they belong to.
“Ebubeagu is perfectly designed by law to complement the effort of the security agencies in tackling insecurity.
“We will not listen to that Federal High Court ruling of Tuesday because we have a similar ruling previously, which we won in 2022. Of course, the lives of citizens are of utmost importance to us.
“We will appeal the judgment and Ebubeagu will continue to function the way it has been functioning. So, we will not adhere to that judgment.”
He added that the attack on Ebubeagu would not guarantee victory for the opposition the coming elections.
“Election is by voter cards and by talking to your supporters. Nothing will make Ebubeagu jittery because there is a law backing its establishment,
“We are not perturbed; we are not bothered. We understand what is happening and we are dealing with it head-on. We will not obey that judgment.”
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