The youths surrendered their weapons to the government following peace dialogues initiated by the government to stem the several months of unrest and insecurity in the council area which had claimed so many lives on both sides.
The event held at the Igbo-Eze North LGA Pavillion, Ogrute in Enugu-Ezike on Monday, marked a turning point in the several efforts for peace and stability in the area which has been pursued by several stakeholders from the area for months.
The Chairman of Igbo-Eze North LGA, Prince Ejike Itodo, who represented Ugwuanyi at the occasion, described the event as the most important of all and the high point of the Christmas and New Year celebrations in the area .
He described peace and security as the beauty of government and thanked those who were passionate about a better Igbo-Eze North, adding that the significance of the event was that the people of Igbo-Eze North had sent the devil and its agents packing.
He, therefore, commended the leadership of Ugwuanyi who is also Enugu North Senatorial Candidate in the 2023 general elections.
The LG Chairman, Itodo, also handed over two Toyota Hilux vehicles procured by the government for the Neighbourhood Watch, Igbo-Eze North Chapter to the Divisional Police Officer, Igbo-Eze North Police Division, CSP Akor Simon.
Itodo thanked the stakeholders in attendance for sacrificing their time to witness the programme and then advised the repented youths to disseminate the good news to others at large for them to repent and reunite with their communities.
The PDP Chairman, Igbo-Eze North Chapter, Chief Alexander Uramah, opined that the root cause of the insecurity is joblessness and expressed his satisfaction to the governor and Itodo for curbing the menace.
Some of the repentant youths like Ogbonna Okonkwo from Aguibeje , Odinaka Odo from Olido and Somadina Omeje, popularly known as King George Bush from Umuogboagu, who spoke on behalf of the youths in their separate speeches, regretted their actions and blamed it on the devil. They promised to do better and be part of the peace process being sought by government and meaningful people of Igbo-Eze North.
The DPO Igbo-Eze North Police Division, who was represented by the DCO, SP Ugwu Victor, on behalf of the security agencies in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, lauded the leadership style Ugwuanyi for granting the repentant youths amnesty.
