Ombatse is a criminal group — Commissioner

[Punch]

Over 50 policemen were killed by members of the Ombatse cult in Nasarawa State last week. ADELANI ADEPEGBA, speaks to the state government, leader of the community where the massacre occurred and relatives of the victims

What is your response to the claim by the President-General of Eggon Cultural Development Association that the state governor knows the leader of Ombatse as a peaceful man?

The governor only knows about the Ombatse group and their criminality. As regards those leading the group, he is not aware. He only got to know about them through the security information he is getting from security agencies about their activities. Remember,  there was an attack on Assakio in June last year and a commission of enquiry was set up and the report of inquiry indicted the Eggon people of attacking without provocation  and killing close to 16 people in a community. Thereafter, they attacked Ajaragu in November of the same year. Then in January this year, they attacked Borombore, Igah, and about seven other communities. That was when it became obvious that the so-called spiritual group is not spiritual in terms of religious inclination, they are spiritual in terms of criminality. Because of that, the state government proscribed the organisation and any other militia or spiritual group that uses violence as its mode of operation. From reports available to security agents, Ombatse group has attacked several communities. We have heard the voice-over of several members of Ombatse confessing to have killed these policemen. If these people have confessed, how can anyone absolve them of involvement in the incident?

The Eggon leader said the leader of the Ombatse is an old man and queried the decision of the police to arrest him with about 100 policemen.

Is he to tell the police how to go about their duty? Will he tell the police how many people they should use to arrest an armed robber? When America used more than 1,000 policemen to apprehend one Boston bomber, do you need to tell the police how many people they should use? The government of Nasarawa State received security reports about the activities of this criminal group, approached the security council and the security council recognised this danger and directed that drastic actions should be taken. The security agencies are expected to do their job in a professional manner; they are trained to do that.

The Eggon people alleged that the security men killed 21 people in Alakyo village before the people retaliated and nobody is talking about it. Has the state government verified this?

Where are the graves of the people they killed? Where were they buried? Where did the villagers get the arms they used against the security men? Have you seen the bodies of the policemen? If you have seen them, you would have seen bullet holes in their bodies. They were killed by bullets, not sticks. Where did they get the bullets from? Where did they get the guns from? And he (Eggon leaders) is absolving them. A small village killed about 57 policemen and you are saying the villagers killed them with machetes. Can villagers do that in Nigeria? The more he speaks, the more complicit he is in that attack on policemen because he knows more than he is telling you. He is absolving people who have confessed to have killed policemen.  Why is he absolving them? Is he their member?

Nasarawa State Information Commissioner, Hamza Elayo



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