The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, claimed on Tuesday the escalating insecurity in the state was a product of politics of bitterness.
The governor stated this in a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, expressed concern that many politicians in Nigeria still find it difficult to manage setbacks in their aspirations 23 years after the country returned to democratic rule.
He insisted that the killings, kidnappings and other violent crimes recorded in the South-East and the country as a whole are politically contrived.
The governor also blamed Nigerians for encouraging the criminals in the early stage of the crisis.
Uzodinma said: “When the problem first started, people were clapping for the bandits and incrementally the criminalities increased. People were killed and properties destroyed. Really, our people in one way or the other encouraged the violence in the land.”
The governor also took a swipe at the critics of the South-East security outfit, Ebubeagu.
“Those who do not want security in Imo State are those criticising Ebubeagu.
“Ebubeagu is just a vigilante arrangement. It is not a security force and the members are not armed.
“They don’t carry the kind of sophisticated arms people see with the bandits.”
