The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those involved in a recent road block against his convoy.
Umahi’s convoy was on Friday blocked along Onicha Road in the Onicha Local Government Area on his way back to Abakaliki, the state capital, from his Uburu home in the Ohaozara LGA.
The road block was said to have been mounted by a group of people observing a wake sequel to a burial ceremony in the area.
Narrating the incident at the Executive Council chambers while receiving some guests, the governor decried the development, describing it as criminal breach of the law.
He alleged that the culprits made away with a gun belonging to a soldier and expressed worry over what they could have done if it had been an ordinary victim that encountered them.
Enraged by the development, the governor also pronounced a ban on holding wakes and other of such ceremonies beyond 10pm across the state.
He also detailed his security aides to ensure that all the culprits were identified and brought for prosecution and possible imprisonment.
He said, “Yesterday night (Friday), I was coming back by 12 midnight. Of course I had to stop over at the college to inspect projects…, but when we got to Onicha, they blocked the road. Even with soldiers and the policemen and everything, they did not even want to open the road. Then I said they should arrest all of them, but most of them ran away.
“I think they even took a gun of a soldier. So the chairman of the local government area, the House of Assembly members and coordinators; they are working very hard with the SSA on Security. They are all there to sort it out.
“But I say, all of them will go to prison. So they have to identify them, bring them here and we will prosecute them to show example. And I want it to be announced that henceforth, no wake should pass 10pm.
“If you must pass 10pm, take written permission from the chairman of the local government area, and both the chairman and the person that requested will be held responsible if any problem occurs.
“My problem is not that they blocked the governor but my worry is supposing that if it was a smaller person that was passing, who had no army and police, they would have robbed the person. It is against the law to block the governor.”