Two members of the Ebubeagu security outfit were shot dead on Friday in Ebonyi state, southeastern Nigeria.
Ebubeagu is a regional security organization created by the South East governors to address security challenges in the region, which is linked to the unrest in Biafra.
But the security outfit itself has been accused of kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial killings in Ebonyi and Imo states.
The killing of the two operatives in Ebubeag occurred at about 7:00pm on Friday at Ebebe Junction, Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state, a resident of Opara said on Monday. News Agency of Nigeria (ID).
“There were other victims but before they got to the hospital, two of them died of bullet injuries while others were still receiving treatment,” Mr. Opara said.
Ebonyi Police spokesman Chris Anyanwu confirmed the killing.
“Investigation is ongoing into the matter and no arrests have been made,” said Mr. Anyanwu, the police superintendent, in Abakaliki on Saturday.
Apart from the general insecurity in the South East, cases of deadly attacks on Ebubeagu have been rampant in Ebonyi.
Some armed men, in one case, set it up Burn the body of operative Ebubeagu after his death in Ebonyi in January. Another operative from Ebubeag they cut off his headalso in January, in Ebonyi.
Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi has said the security outfit would not disband despite the alleged involvement in judicial killings of some of its officials.
“The law in Ebubeagu is very clear, just like there are bad elements in other security forces and within the society, there may be bad eggs in Ebubeagu but my position is that the bad eggs in Ebubeagu should be identified and weeded out,” Mr. Umahi. he said in January.
The governor said Ebubeagu is doing a “beautiful” job helping the police and the military fight crime in the state.
He advised members of the security team to act within the bounds of the law by immediately handing over suspected criminals to the police.
“You are not allowed to torture, not to mention kill, but you have the right to self-defense and the evidence must be there,” the governor said.
(IN)
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