The Action Congress of Nigeria has condemned the killing of the mother and brother of the party’s Akwa Ibom state chapter spokespman, Mr. Francis Effanga. The condemnation was contained in a statement released by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed in Lagos.
The statement read “ACN condemns the gruesome murder of Mrs. Erasmus Effanga and Mr. Basil Effanga mother and brother respectively of its Spokesman in Akwa Ibom State Mr. Francis Effanga whose lifeless and decomposing bodies were found in a room in their residence in Mbinkpa Atan village Akwa Ibom State on Sunday the 5th of August 2012”.
The statement described the killing as “further proof of the culture of violence and the systemic decimation of its members in Akwa Ibom state and called on the Presidency to rise above partisan politics and direct the relevant security agencies to apprehend the killers of Mrs. Erasmus Effanga and Mr. Basil Effanga”.
The statement further stated that the party’s spokesperson was targeted because of his staunch oppositional stand during the governoship election in the state “It will be recalled that in the run-up to the 2011 general elections Akwa Ibom held unenviable record of being the goriest killing field in the entire country, and the ACN’s spokesman in the state Mr. Francis Effanga was a thorn in the flesh of the PDP rampaging machinery of oppression and destruction of lives and properties, a role which earned him unjustified persecution, arrest and detention”.
The party also called on the Presidency to direct the relevant security agencies to apprehend the killers of the deceased.
“This latest gruesome murder of Mrs. Erasmus Effanga and Mr. Basil Effanga has once again confirmed that the reign of politics of intolerance, assassinations and kidnappings of the PDP in Akwa Ibom state which has so far claimed over 100 lives is far from over and President Goodluck Jonathan should forthwith direct the relevant security agencies to investigate and fish out the culprits because according to the party, strong determination in the fight against impunities is absolutely crucial to deter further crimes, uphold the rule of law and protect public trust in the justice system”.
Bodies of the deceased were found in their home in Mbinkpa Atan Village in the state on Sunday, August 5, 2012.
