31st January 2026
His Excellency, Governor Francis Ogbonnia Nwifuru,
The Executive Governor, Ebonyi State.
Attention:
the National Security Adviser,
The Chief of Defence Staff
ALERT AGAINST THE UNLAWFUL, ILLEGAL, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL EXERCISE OF EXECUTIVE POWER AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF AMASIRI COMMUNITIES, FOLLOWING A HASTY AND UNVERIFIABLE REPORT BY THE GOVERNOR OF EBONYI STATE — THE URGENT NEED TO PREVENT REPRISAL OR GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ATTACKS AND FURTHER MASS ARRESTS OF CITIZENS OF AMASIRI COMMUNITIES.
Yet, in palpable discontent, I, through my pen, speak to His Excellency for the umpteenth time—not as his favored voice, but as an entitled, vulnerable citizen of the state and a public interest lawyer who has refused to remain silent in the face of mischief and travesty, choosing instead to offer my services in defence of a defenseless community that has been variously misjudged, falsely convicted, resentfully punished, or otherwise penalized for mere allegations, often without a fair trial or hearing by His Excellency, the Governor of Ebonyi State.
This recent petition is necessitated by a distressing viral press statement attributed to the Governor of Ebonyi State on 31 January 2026, which whimsically announced the dismissal and dethronement—in an utterly despotic manner—of all government appointees and traditional rulers of Amasiri extraction. This action followed the mass arrest of innocent citizens from Amasiri communities by military personnel over the condemnable alleged attack on the properties and dwellers of Oso Community in Ebonyi State.
These actions, based solely on a mere pedestrian assumption that the perpetrators of the alleged attack must belong to or emanate from Amasiri communities (who have historically been at odds with the Oso dwellers), is not only skewed primitive executive exercise, but also a premeditated act of brazen illegality, hurriedly meted against an entire community and its people.
Sadly, the Governor was not informed before handing down his hasty and wholly draconian orders, that Amasiri Community harbored no current grudge against the Oso dwellers noting that it was Amasiri them who lobbied for and championed the “December 2025 accord to maintain peace”, (even against the wishes of their conflicting neighbors), pending the government’s final resolution of the conflict.
Perhaps someone must have failed or neglected, in the exercise of their duty or in fairness to good conscience, to inform the Governor—despite it being public knowledge within the state—that the last week of the month, from the 25th to the 31st, inclusive of the 29th (the day on which the alleged attack was regrettably carried out on Oso settlers), was traditionally and sacredly set aside for burial ceremonies across the Amasiri communities, during which period no citizen is permitted to leave for any other business.
While I struggle, albeit unsuccessfully, to make excuses for the actions of the state government or to find justification for the Governor’s apparent abuse of power against Amasiri and its people, it must be understood that this present course of action is unlikely to restore the desired peace. If not immediately reversed, it may occasion both economic and political setbacks for an already fractured community striving to heal, and could further precipitate a hybrid crisis and insecurity within the state.
The Governor’s strange conflict-management approach has, in the circumstances, unfortunately heightened the existing tension within the Amasiri communities, thereby fueling anxiety over a possible government-backed attack against the people. As a result, they are presently unable to pursue their livelihoods or live freely as citizens.
Accordingly, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Defence Staff are urged to impress upon the Governor of Ebonyi State the need to refrain from deploying military personnel against defenseless communities, and to ensure the immediate release of innocent citizens unlawfully arrested from their homes and places of business. His Excellency is further called upon to reverse the dismissal of appointees of Amasiri extraction and to promptly reinstate their traditional rulers, thereby averting potential security breaches arising from communal unrest and dissatisfaction.
Yours faithfully,
M.O.Idam
m.o.idammaduabuchio@gmail