Former Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has condemned the killing of five people in Ezinachi community, Okigwe Local Government Area, describing the tragedy as another damning proof of government’s failure to protect lives and property.
Speaking in reaction to the gruesome murder of Mr. Emeka Ezeagwula, his wife Blessing, Mr. Ejike Otuonye, Mr. Chidi Chineke, and a vigilante member, Ihedioha declared that the spate of violence in Imo State had reached an unacceptable level.
He warned that Nigerians must not resign themselves to living under fear and bloodshed.
“We cannot normalize tragedy. We cannot accept insecurity as fate,” the former governor declared, stressing that the killings were not just numbers but human beings — fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and defenders of their communities — whose lives were brutally cut short.
Ihedioha described the incident as “an assault on the dignity of humanity and a direct consequence of the collapse of governance and security architecture in the state.”
He insisted that no society can thrive where human lives are treated as expendable.
According to him, the massacre should serve as a wake-up call to both the state and federal governments.
“The first duty of government is the protection of life. Any failure in this sacred duty is a grievous abdication of responsibility,” he said.
He tasked security agencies to move beyond rhetoric and act decisively to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure that such a tragedy does not repeat itself.
“I call on the security agencies of government to rise to their constitutional mandate — not only to bring these murderers to justice but also to restore confidence in our people that their lives truly matter,” he added.
The former governor lamented that ordinary citizens in Imo now live in constant fear, unable to farm their lands or sleep peacefully at night.
“Our people deserve to live in peace, to till their lands without fear, and to sleep at night without the dread of gunfire,” he said, warning that the continued erosion of security risks pushing communities into despair and self-help.
Ihedioha also used the opportunity to commiserate with the families of the victims and the Ezinachi community, declaring that their grief is shared by all well-meaning Imolites.
“Their pain is our collective pain. Their loss is an assault on all of us as a people,” he mourned.
