February 11, (THEWILL) – The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ebonyi State, Ben Odoh, has ordered the presiding Magistrate, Lynda Ogodo, to discharge 180 war detainees from the Abakaliki Correctional Centre.
Odoh, in a letter addressed to the presiding Magistrate, held that the records of proofs of evidence don’t, in his opinion, disclose sufficient evidence to sustain the charges against the defendants, hence, the order for their discharge.
The letter read, “In pursuant to section 167(1) of Ebonyi State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019, I hereby inform you that the record of the proofs of evidence doesn’t, in my opinion, disclose sufficient evidence to sustain the charge of conspiracy, and citing of war contrary to section 516(A)(a) and 42 of the criminal code cap 33 volume 1 law of Ebonyi State of Nigeria 2009 or any other offence against the Defendants.
“You are, therefore, kindly requested to summon the defendants and have them discharged”, the State Attorney General ordered.
THEWILL recalls that the male detainees were arrested in 2021, following the Effium/Ezza crisis, which emanated from a leadership tussle on the collection of market tolls in the then Effium popular market in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.
The Effium motor park clash further snowballed into a full-blown communal war between Effium and Ezza-Effium people, which led to the death of many and the destruction of property worth billions of naira.
The communal war, which started in 2021, continued unabated, despite the then government led by David Umahi’s interventions and was inherited by the incumbent administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
The discharge of all the detainees who are natives of the crisis-ravaged community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state from prison is part of the state Governor Francis Nwifuru’s measures to restore absolute peace in the area.
The discharge exercise commenced on February 5, 2025, at various courts handling the matters in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
