Anambra declares three-day mourning for stampede victims •To set up probe panel •Attack premeditated –Umeh •Hold Obi responsible, says APC •Atiku condoles with victims By Chukwujekwu Ilozue / Onitsha Anambra State Government has declared three days of mourning for people who lost their lives on Saturday morning towards the tail end of a vigil at the Holy Ghost Adoration Arena in Uke in the Idemmili Local Government area of the state. State Governor, Peter Obi, also announced plans by government to set up a panel of inquiry to unearth the immediate and remote causes of the tragedy. In a state-wide broadcast on Sunday, Obi who expressed deep sympathy to the families of the deceased and injured ones said the three days of mourning started from Saturday and directed all security agencies to ensure that the culprits were brought to book. He said the proposed panel of inquiry would fully investigate to unearth what led to the incident. Twenty-five people died in the tragedy at about 5.00 a.m. on Saturday shortly after the Governor and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in the November 16 Anambra governorship election, Willie Obiano, had left the crusade ground. The Governor who looked deeply worried by the tragedy spoke of how he had been interrupted three times by different groups who waved brooms and posters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the poll, Chris Ngige, when he (Obi) was called up by the host priest of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma. The “confusionists”, Obi said, also sang Ngige’s name and wondered why Ngige should turn a holy ground into a campaign arena. The Governor described the act as regrettable. Obi said he left the venue three hours before the incident and so “no sane reporter could insinuate that his security aide fired tear gas and a gun at the venue after the end of the crusade”. He said it was clear such could not have come from him, as those who knew him would attest. The Governor appealed to people to remain calm and prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of the victims. Meanwhile, National Chairman of APGA, Victor Umeh, has called on the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to arrest Ngige for his alleged role in the death of victims. Speaking to newsmen in Awka after Obi’s broadcast, Umeh urged the police to move for Ngige’s arrest for allegedly instigating the pandemonium that ensued at the end of the crusade which left scores of others injured. Umeh said he was hinging his call on the actions of Ngige and his supporters, wondering what Ngige’s supporters were doing at the crusade ground with their party symbols of brooms and posters of Ngige if it was not part of an orchestrated plot to cause confusion at the prayer ground in search of cheap propaganda. “From what happened at the Holy Ghost Adoration ground it was obvious that this mayhem and pandemonium were carefully planned and executed by Dr. Chris Ngige’s team. He has been very notorious for this type of antics. “Having wasted about 25 human lives it will be so little to say that police should (only) come here and ask people questions. “Ngige should be immediately arrested because the signs were there that he planned and executed this unfortunate tragedy for the fact that people who infiltrated the arena carried his brooms and campaign posters and chanted solidarity songs without any justification,” Umeh said. He recalled that Ngige was earlier at the venue the previous day to participate at the mass without being molested by anybody but that knowing that Obi would come the next day he wanted to come but was prevented by the organisers to avert a clash. Umeh regretted that despite being stopped from coming Ngige had gone ahead to instigate his people to disrupt the Friday vigil to score cheap political points. He alleged that Ngige had always displayed such distractive tendencies in churches by coming in the middle of service where those he planted would hail him. “That is why he should be immediately arrested by the police,” Umeh added. The APC, however, countered, saying Obi should be held responsible for the stampede at the vigil. In a statement in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said had Obi “and the unpopular candidate he is seeking to impose on the people of the state, Willie Obiano, not gone to the praying ground to engage in wrongful politicking, the innocent souls who died at the vigil would be alive today.” It noted that while there was nothing wrong in a state Governor going to a vigil, such visit should not be impromptu so the organisers could make the necessary security arrangements, “and it should also not be a licence to engage in political campaign.” APC condemned plans by the Governor to set up a panel to investigate the stampede, considering the fact that he (Governor) himself was at the centre of the whole tragedy. ‘’Setting up a panel to investigate the cause of the stampede will amount to seeking to be a judge in your own case. The only cause of the stampede is the Governor’s ill-advised visit to the vigil. “Information at our disposal has it that the stampede was triggered by the Governor’s overzealous security details who manhandled congregants, as their principal was exiting the venue of the vigil. “The security details were said to have been irked by the murmurs of disapproval that greeted the Governor’s attempt to campaign for his candidate, Mr. Obiano. ‘’It is therefore disingenuous for the Governor’s spin doctors to be shifting the blame on the supporters of our candidate, Senator Chris Ngige. “The simple truth is that there would have been no stampede if Gov. Obi had not come to the vigil or, even if he had come, had not attempted to politicise the gathering that was meant strictly for prayers,’’ APC said. Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Diocese, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, on the other hand attributed the stampede to “false alarm’’. Okeke said at a news conference on Sunday that the stampede was not caused by sabotage and that the church was not suspecting any sabotage. “It is an unfortunate incident,’’ he added. Represented by Rev. Fr. Uche Ukor, Director of Social Communications, Okeke also denied reports that the stampede was caused by a snake that came out from somewhere. Anambra State chapter of the APC also reacted to Obi’s broadcast, insisting that the Governor has more questions to answer on the cause of the stampede at the crusade. In a statement by Okelo Madukaife for the APC, the party said Obi “spoke like an APGA campaign leader that he is, while jettisoning his role as a Governor, and the qualities of a statesman.” Noting that “Governor Obi could have acknowledged his error and apologise, rather than hide behind one finger,” the statement flayed his (Obi’s) comments on the waving of broom by APC supporters in the church premises. “Was Chris Ngige in Uke? Was Ngige’s campaign uniform anywhere in the Adoration grounds? Can the governor successfully gag Ndi Anambra not to confess the well-deserved support they are giving Senator Ngige for the November 16, 2013, over and above his imposed APGA candidate that does not know what immunity of an office entails in the Constitution? “By lying that the broom was being waved in church, Gov Obi is indicting Rev Fr Obimma, the overseer of the Adoration Ground and against the Holy Spirit. But does he care?” the statement added. Also on Sunday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressed outrage at the senseless and incessant killings of innocent people by bandits. Reacting to the killing of over 30 members of a wedding party, including the groom, who were returning from Michika in Adamawa State to Maiduguri, the former Vice President said this level of lawlessness and wanton destruction of life by callous and devilish criminal gangs should be embarrassing to all Nigerians. According to him, it was beyond comprehension to imagine how killing innocent people could bring happiness or relief to any normal human being. He said all the religions of the world preach about the sanctity of life and that nothing could justify taking the life of even one innocent person. While expressing his sympathy to the families of those killed by the bandits in Maiduguri, the former Vice President also called for increased vigilance among members of the communities infested by bandits in the North-east region of the country. Meanwhile, the former Vice President has also extended his condolence to the families of those killed in Anambra State during a church vigil at Uke. Atiku regretted that such a tragedy would befall persons who had taken out time to commune with their God and called for a probe into the incident to avoid acrimony in the state.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:34:52 +0000
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