The governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has expressed shock at media reports “claiming that the Department of State Services (DSS) has uncovered 55 shallow graves in a forest in Abia State, where the remains of five Hausa-Fulani men were allegedly buried”.
A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Godwin Adindu, made available to Qed.ng on Monday said Ikpeazu and the people of the state feel very highly embarrassed by the report which the government said is capable of causing ethnic/communal crisis in the country.
“The Governor believes that stakeholders in information management in the country should be conscious of national security and therefore be cautious and reticent in their approach to such sensitive news,” the statement said.
The DSS had in a statement signed by its spokesperson Tony Opuiyo on Saturday accused separatist group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), of abducting and killing five Hausa-Fulani residents in Abia State.
“The abducted men were later discovered at the Umuanyi forest, Abia State, where they were suspected to have been killed by their abductors and buried in shallow graves, amidst 50 other shallow graves of unidentified persons,” spokesman Opuiyo said in the statement.
“Arrests and investigation conducted so far revealed that elements within the IPOB carried out this dastardly action,” he said.
An irritated Ikpeazu however said “our check with the security agencies in Abia has confirmed that the information did not emanate from any of the security units in Abia. Both the DSS in Abia, Police and Army have all denied ever issuing such information.”
Ikpeazu, in a thinly veiled manner, condemned the DSS headquarters in Abuja for authoring the statement about the shallow graves: “If anybody or group wrote a petition to the headquarters in Abuja, the most professional approach should be for the headquarters to confer with their departments in Abia. There is a Brigade Commander here; there is Director of DSS and there is Commissioner of Police, with a PPRO attached to his office. All the units have told me they never released any such information.”
He also took out his frustration on journalists, saying: “We are also worried that the media organs that published this news did not consider the sensitive nature of that information to national peace and security as to have also conferred and confirmed from their correspondents in Abia. None of the reports came with the by-line of a correspondent in Abia State.
“We condemn this flagrant abuse of professionalism by all the parties involved in the dissemination of this volatile and sensitive news which has not only embarrassed the government of Abia State but is also capable of raising tension and ethnic acrimony in the state.
“We re-emphasize that the government of Abia State have not received any official report in this regard and therefore warn the instigators of this bad report to rethink their mischief.
“Abia State enjoys very peaceful and cordial inter-ethnic relations. There has been cooperation and harmony amongst all ethnic groups and all issues and pocket of breaches have also been amicably resolved and settled by the government.”
