An activist lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam, has strongly condemned the alleged killings in Oso community, Ebonyi State, describing the incident as inhumane and deeply disturbing.
In a statement issued after watching a video of the alleged attack, Idam said the footage left him devastated and struggling to comprehend the mindset of those who carried out the act.
He noted that the incident helps to explain the anger reportedly expressed by the state governor, adding that such outrage would be expected of anyone confronted with the same evidence.
Idam described the killings as heartless and said the pain suffered by the victims’ families could not be quantified.
He argued that those responsible deserve to face the full weight of the law, stressing that anyone capable of such acts is “an enemy to humanity.”
According to him, if security agencies and the state government indeed possess credible evidence identifying the perpetrators, arrests should be made without delay, followed by prosecution and appropriate punishment.
Drawing from his personal background, Idam said he was raised in a peaceful and hospitable community where human life was considered sacred and the shedding of blood was a taboo.
He expressed concern that such values appear to be eroding and called on the governor to deploy intelligence-led security efforts to identify and apprehend all those responsible for killings in both Oso and Amasiri communities.
However, the lawyer cautioned against actions that could collectively punish innocent residents.
Idam emphasized that it would be more unjust to punish individuals for crimes they had no involvement in than to allow a guilty person to go free.
While acknowledging the governor’s right to express anger, Idam criticized measures such as the alleged destruction of lives and property, closure of schools, redeployment of teachers, removal of government appointees, or attempts to delist communities or development centres. He described such steps as demonstrations of anger that are “not justified” if they result in harm to innocent people.
He noted that many residents have never taken part in violence and are not even aware of the disputed lands at the centre of the conflict. Such individuals, he said, should not be made to suffer for crimes they did not commit.
Idam called on the governor to reconsider and reverse any broad punitive decisions and instead focus on identifying and prosecuting all perpetrators in both communities to end the cycle of hostility and tension.
“Enough people have died already,” he said, adding that no further loss of life should be allowed in the pursuit of peace and coexistence between the communities.
He called for an end to the killing of innocent people.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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