Violent killings appear to be the latest fashion in many of the South-Eastern states, Cajetan Mmuta reports
Peace and serenity seem to have taken flight for some time now in the five states in the South-East geo-political zone. Indeed, what millions of residents and people in the zone appear to be conversant with lately are sing songs of destruction, blood and violence.
The examples abound. The staccato sounds of guns and the clattering sounds of short, broad sabre or slashing swords have taken over Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, even as their inhabitants are feeling extremely nervous and living in perpetual fear. Just name it, if it is not the action of blood-thirsty gunmen and robbers, it is the activity of cultists and kidnappers disrupting the peace of the people and keeping them on the edge.
Before now, especially in the last three months, the hot-bed for violence seemed to be in the North-East and the South-West. But happenings in the South-East, nowadays, have made a mincemeat of destruction in these other zones. For Ndigbo, as the people of the zone are fondly called, things have really fallen apart and their security complexion, as it were, has greatly been altered. That they hold this feeling is not surprising. Evidence of scary scenarios, violent attacks, destruction and disruptions of peace have become commonplace. The attack on the campaign train of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, and the subsequent killings of his three security aides the other day in his country home, Isuofia, are pointers to the newest fad in the zone. As of the last count, no fewer than 40 security operatives (men ironically charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property) have been killed by marauders in most gruesome manner. This is not to talk of the number of persons killed among the civilian population.
In Aba, the commercial town of Abia State, some policemen were killed and their stations torched following clashes between state actors and suspected members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a Biafran separatist organisation in the country. Of course, many IPOB members were not spared in the unholy rage. From Abia State to its sister state, Imo, it is still the same tale of violence and anguish. Recall that suspected members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), a group linked with IPOB, had clashed with security operatives, leaving in its trail a harvest of deaths on both sides.
How gunmen attacked Soludo’s gathering in Anambra – Police
The level of disruption in the fight prompted the state governor, Chief Hope Uzodinma, to slam curfew in about 12 council areas in the state. Apart from the human causalities, many houses and other valuables worth millions of naira were razed.
From Anambra State, touted as the light of the nation, darkness has literally enveloped the state. With the killings of four policemen and a handful of residents of Nkpologwu in Aguata Local Government Area as well as murder of three policemen at Omogho community in Orumba North Local Government, there is no denying the fact that violence has visited the largely commercial state. As if that is not enough, gunmen, a fortnight ago, swooped on security operatives, killing four naval officers at Awkuzu in Oyi Council Area of the state. The ugly scenario recurred a few days later as three policemen were also shot dead at Neni-Okacha area of Anaocha Local Government Area, while two prison and police officers were not spared when some gangsters visited their anger on a correctional vehicle at Ekwuluobia, Aguata Council Area.
While the Soludo attack as well as the kidnap of the state Commissioner for Water and Public Utilities, Mr. Emeka Ezenwanne, is believed to have political undertone, after all, the state heating up for governorship election in November, the same cannot be said of the recent killings in Enugu and Ebonyi states. The latter, our correspondent gathered, stemmed from misunderstanding between Fulani herdsmen and some natives. The feud resulted in the death of eight persons at Adani, an agrarian community in Uzo Uwani Local Government of Enugu State.
In Ebonyi State, suspected Fulani herdsmen invaded Obeagu, Egedegede and Nkaleha communities in Ishielu Council Area, a few days ago, leaving in its wake 25 persons killed.
Accompanying the killings in the zone are the innumerable cases of looting, raping of young girls and women in the farmlands and stealing. Weighing in on the development, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has deployed military, policemen and DSS operatives in strategic locations in the state. He has also banned the use of tinted vehicles and the activities of touts in the state. As the governor rolled out these directives, the commissioner of police in the state, Mr. Monday Bala Kuryas, says the command has stepped up security measures in order to restore peace in the state. Be that as it may, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, through its President-General, Prof. George Obiozor, has condemned the killings in the zone.
Obiozor says, “It is worrisome that while other countries are waxing on development programmes, Nigerians are busy counting on loss of human lives through AK-47 wielding Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, kidnappings, banditry and other extra-judicial means.” On his part, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, has urged people of the zone to endeavour to be security conscious so as to void being caught unaware by the deadly activities of herdsmen. The monarch says, “Mercenary herders are moving into the South-East forests, kidnapping and killing our people.”
Meanwhile, Mr.Ifeatu Obi Okoye,the Special Adviser on Political Matters to Governor Obiano, says the surge in crime in the state cannot be divorced from the EndSARS protests last year. He notes, “Let’s first look at the sudden turn of events in the South-East and Anambra State. One must take the issues back to the EndSARS protests last year. Why we must trace it back is because the state has always enjoyed a relative peace for six years, until the EndSARS protest. The protest came in its wake sudden release of or escape of criminals who were in detention.
“The second part of it was the burning of police stations which came with the looting of arms and ammunition; all these things are now in the hands of these armed robbers and criminals who escaped from either the prisons or from the confinements of SARS, and I want to believe that it is the same people that are dishing out this terror on the people. “When you also look at the modus operandi, you find out that they are tendentiously annoyed with the police; they must have something with the police, and police have confirmed that these are people who come out from confinements of SARS.”
Also, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Publicity Secretary in the state, Chief Nnamdi Nwangwu, has tasked South-East governors to ensure effective security system in their domains. He says, “As the chief security officers, they should wake up in their responsibilities and take firm control in the provision of effective security systems for the welfare and protection of lives and properties of the people in their various states.”
In a related development, concerned individuals and groups have condemned the attack by gunmen on Soludo. The state chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr. Webster Okonkwo, particularly expresses worry over the rising level of insecurity in the country with particular reference to Anambra State. According to him, the recent attack on the policemen attached to an All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship aspirant, highlights this development which cannot be divorced from years of maladministration by present and past regimes led by the APC, PDP and APGA.
Also, a Human Rights Organisation, Anambra Civil Society Network (ACSONET), through its Chairman, Chris Azor, says the incident is scary and unacceptable. Azor says,“Citizens are hereby enjoined to be extra vigilant, assist the state government and law enforcement agents, and eschew all forms of criminal activities.”
The Chairman of a political group, Anambra Demands Soludo, (ADS), Chief Jude Okechukwu Emecheta, on his part, queries the remote reason behind the recent assassination attempt on Soludo, describing the former CBN chief as a strong contender in the forthcoming governorship election in the state. Emecheta said Soludo did not offend anyone by nursing the ambition to become the next governor on the platform of APGA. He explains that since Soludo made his governorship ambition public, he has become the subject matter of every discussion even among co-aspirants. According to him, Soludo is the topic of discussion because other aspirants see him as a big threat to their aspirations, a factor that explains all manner of sinister moves and malevolent plots to truncate his ambition.
