PANDEMONIUM AS POLICE DISRUPT DEMONSTRATION IN ONITSHA

There was pandemonium in the commercial city of Onitsha yesterday as policemen from Anambra State Police Command disrupted a peaceful demonstration by the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Anambra State branch.

Daily Sun reported that though no casualty was recorded, the CD had staged the peaceful demonstration to drive home some of the issues in the nation and state government, which included insecurity and non-conduct of local government election in the state.

According to the CD's Vice Chairman for South-east region, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, the demonstration became imperative in the face of insecurity posed by the dreaded Boko Haram sect and non conduct of council election by Governor Peter Obi, adding that the issues posed great danger to the country's democracy.

Uzor explained that the demonstration was also centred on the recent controversial fuel subsidy probe, pension scam and the continued killings of innocent citizens by Boko Haram sect.

In the statement, Uzor said the Federal Government's inability to prosecute those indicted by the Farouk Lawal-led ad-hoc Committee probing fuel subsidy and its sister pension scam was not only provocative but unacceptable to Nigerians, adding that the petroleum minister, her finance and information counterparts should be sacked with immediate effect.

CD further contended that the recent use of soldiers and high caliber military equipment to intimidate innocent protesting Nigerians in Lagos who felt aggrieved by the lack of political will to prosecute some individuals and groups indicted by the investigating committee of the House of Representatives was equally unacceptable to the masses.

CD maintained that the essence of the demonstration was to compel the Federal Government to bring to book all those found culpable in the fuel subsidy probe, power sector probe, pension funds probe, Halliburton, Siemens and the ongoing stock exchange investigations. He further said the poor masses toiling day in day out to make ends meet could not continue to bear the brunt of corruption and executive rascality, while those corrupt officials stash away 'our wealth and go scot free without paying for their crimes to serve as deterrent to others.'

He insisted that Governor Obi should immediately start the process of conducting local government election in the state, regretting that it was undemocratic for him to have refused to conduct election since he assumed office .