Activist lawyer Maduabuchi Idam has dismissed the reversal of the curfew on Amasiri community by Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru as no cause for celebration. In a sharp response, Idam stressed that the curfew’s removal does not deter him from pursuing the legal case already filed against the state government.
Idam, in a personally signed statement, clarified that the lawsuit will continue unless the government compensates families of those killed extrajudicially by joint security forces, pays for the harm, pain, and psychological trauma inflicted on innocent members of the Amasiri community, and reconstructs properties destroyed during the enforcement of the governor’s directives.
“The reported lifting of the vindictive curfew imposed on Amasiri, along with the reversal of other punitive sanctions, is not a reason to celebrate. As I noted earlier, there is nothing to jubilate about, as those measures were unwarranted and unprovoked from the start,” the statement read.
“While I acknowledge and welcome the development—especially since we have just begun serving court processes in the case Maduabuchi O. Idam v. Chief of Defence Staff and 7 Others—it is crucial to make clear that the lifting of the curfew and the reversal of certain vindictive sanctions will not halt the legal action we have instituted.
“This action will proceed unless and until the governor fully accedes to the reliefs sought. These include, but are not limited to, compensation for extrajudicial killings by the joint security operation, compensation for the harm, pain, and psychological distress inflicted on innocent Amasiri community members, and reconstruction of properties destroyed in enforcing the governor’s directive.
“Until my reliefs are fully acceded to, I will pursue this action to its logical and conclusive end. State power exists to protect, not to victimize. This injustice must not go unatoned,” Idam concluded.