Again, Residents Task Governors On Providing Security

Stakeholders in the South East region have expressed worries about a possible return to dark days of killings and destruction of public properties, which characterised the area since the re-arrest and detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2021 but seemed to had been brought under control.
 
Their worries stem from the killings on Okigwe-Owerri Road, Imo State, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. The day was not a sit at home day in the South East region. And there was no inkling that those who owned businesses should not open or that people who had anywhere to go around the area should not do so.

Therefore, like any other day that is not sit at home, businesses had opened in the area. Residents and passersby had looked up to the day with hope and aspirations and had moved about their duties without let or hindrance.
 
But the bustling associated with the day was soon disrupted as gunmen suspected to be arsonists began to unleash mayhem on innocent residents, shooting indiscriminately, killing and setting targets on fire. Those who could make the best use of their legs to search for cover and safety did so as the rampaging boys, said to have operated in a Sienna bus, held the people down.

When the attackers were gone, no fewer than 30 people, according to reports, had been killed while several vehicles conveying goods and passengers were said to have been set ablaze. For a few days, normalcy took flight in the area as many feared that those who launched the attack could return.

It was gathered that the gunmen blocked the Okigwe-Owerri highway and areas of Umuna in Onuimo Local Council and unleashed violence “in an utter show of impunity.”

What baffles most people in the region is the enormity of the casualty figure in the incident, as such had not been recorded in one single attack since insecurity increased in the zone in 2021.
 
Sources indicated that since the incident, residents and those who make use of the highway have continued to operate in fear, especially with the realisation that Okigwe axis had been prone to attacks, killings and kidnappings by various separatist groups in the guise of Biafra agitation.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the latest attack. The IPOB and its security arm, Eastern Security Network (ESN), was also quick in rebuffing allegations that its personnel may have committed the act, especially from Amnesty International and the Federal Government. 

Denouncing reports linking it to the incident, IPOB alleged that “since 2021, the Nigerian State has funded numerous violent criminal acts in the South East region, using the media to attribute these assaults to IPOB and ESN to evade investigations.”
 
Citing past killings and security breaches, it alleged that the May 8 incident was “a scam by Nigeria government and Amnesty International Nigeria to ambush IPOB and ESN operatives locally and internationally.”
 
In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB added: “Nonetheless, the recent report by Amnesty International, Nigeria, labeling IPOB and ESN as the culprits behind the Okigwe arson attack on innocent Biafran individuals and their properties demonstrates the extent of deceit afflicting that once-revered human rights organisation today because of its ties to the corrupt Nigerian government. It is concerning that a supposed human rights organisation, such as Amnesty International Nigeria, would stoop so low as to align with blackmailers against ESN by using media manipulation to undermine the innocent Vigilante, allowing Fulani terrorists to invade Ndigbo unopposed. With this development, Amnesty International Nigeria has diminished its credibility as a reliable human rights organisation.”

The Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), also denied responsibility for the attack, even as it alleged that several crimes were being committed to paint the agitators for Biafra in bad light.
 
MASSOB Leader, Uchenna Madu, told The Guardian that members of the group had remained non-violent and would not engage in activities that could create pain for the people of Biafra.
 
“All I can say is that there is more to some of these coordinated attacks than meets the eyes. It is left for those whose duty it is to provide security to tell us exactly what is going on and how they intend to solve it,” Madu stated.

Reacting to the development, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, urged security agencies to go after the perpetrators.   He said: “Again, we have been confronted with another senseless killing in the country, this time in Imo State, where about 30 people were murdered by gunmen.

“This marks yet another level of embarrassing barbarism in a society already battling an unprecedented level of insecurity. Violent killings, horror and fear have continued to define our daily lives in our nation.
 
“This inhuman act must be condemned by all. We cannot expect to build a responsible society of humans when we continually desecrate human life without provocation. Such a level of violence and criminality must not continue to have a place in our nation.
 
“These recurring attacks, violence and killings are a poignant reminder of our collective failure as a nation, gradually losing sense of the sanctity of life and becoming accustomed to terror. The time is now to break this ugly trend of senseless killing.”

Rising Worries
For some time now, the South East region had enjoyed some relative peace with the reduction in its crime rate amid improved action by the governors. However, the Okigwe incident and the alleged recent bombing of Mbosi community in Ihiala Local Council of Anambra State, which no group has taken responsibility for, is fueling fresh fears and worries in residents.  

A lawyer, Chinagorom Umeh, told The Guardian that every right thinking member of the zone should worry about what he described as “recurring spate of insecurity and killings”. He added: “These attacks, especially the one that took place in Okigwe, if you can recall took a similar pattern in 2021, when gunmen stormed a federal Correctional Centre in Owerri, Imo State and freed inmates. As I speak to you, it is not certain that those who carried out the attack have been arrested and prosecuted. It is also not clear if those they released from the Correctional facility were rearrested.
 
“Now we have a situation where some gunmen operated unhindered for several minutes, killing and setting targets on fire; but as we speak, no arrests have been made. I am not even sure if the State Police Command has the full grasp of what transpired. It is most unfortunate.
 
“The only thing that worries me is that we are gradually returning to where we were; to the thing that brought our economy to its knees. We have not recovered; those who left the shores of the region in the wake of insecurity are yet to return to the states. Even in some states, the Monday sit at home is still in force. So, I think that something should be done by the South East governors to nip this development in the bud to ensure that it does not repeat.”
 
Speaking in a similar vein, a business woman, Mrs. Ngozi Orji, explained that the dislocation created by the attack in Okigwe would take some time to be addressed, stressing that some traders affected in the area were yet to return to their business.
 
Orji, a cement dealer, disclosed that billions of naira was lost in goods from the incident, lamenting that many of those affected may not return to business in a long time because of the enormity of what they lost.

Orji urged also the governors of the South East region to rise to the challenge and protect residents, explaining that “unless those who carried out the attack are apprehended and tried, it will continue to create the impression that the region has no value for the life and property of her people. She added: “It will continue to create the impression that the zone is porous and lacks the needed security to protect her investments.
 
“Unfortunately, nothing has been heard from even the state government since the incident took place. Those affected in the incident have been abandoned to their faith. It is not as if measures are being put in place to prevent a repeat. This is sad because Okigwe has suffered a series of attacks since insecurity increased in this region. This incident was not the first time people were killed here. It is not the first time people were kidnapped or properties belonging to innocent people and even the government were burnt. You may wish to know that some institutions have closed down due to insecurity. We have had power installations vandalised and what have you. I do not know for how long this would last.”

Meanwhile, the police in the state have continued to assure that it would get to the root of the matter. It stated that the gunmen who carried the latest attack operated in three groups, adding that “a dull scale search and cordon operation is currently underway, with security operatives combing nearby forests and surrounding areas where the suspects are believed to be hiding.”