Law and order in South-East deserve government priority
The recurrent breakdown of law and order in Nigeria’s Southeast is a cause for concern. The killings, destruction of property and monumental losses in businesses and man-hours occasioned by the weekly sit-at-home orders by non-state actors are unacceptable in a constitutionally governed space. Worse still, the manner the national flag and the anthem are flagrantly disregarded and flouted leaves the sub-national and local authorities little or no respect. That should not be allowed to continue.
There is no doubt that virtually every other geo-political zone in the country has one security challenge or the other, for which the authorities are constantly challenged to take responsibility. But the situation in the Southeast is most disturbing, particularly when innocent and promising lives are cut short so brutally without repercussion.
The gruesome killing of 16 youths in the Nibo community in Anambra State, on October 20, 2024, in a suspected cult attack, is reprehensible and condemnable. As the story went, the youths who are indigenes of the community gathered at an eatery to celebrate the Onea Asato festival, when the assailants stormed the venue in a black Lexus SUV and rained bullets on them, killing 16. An eye-witness who reported the scene said it was like a war zone, as the killers carried out the dastardly act unrestrained.
The crime scene was reported to be a few distance from the Governor’s Lodge, where Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the state governor resides. The lack of respect for constituted authority in the state and the inability of the government to protect life and property, which is the number one responsibility of the government, is equally disturbing. The reason there is government is to ensure that law-abiding citizens are protected as they go about their businesses safely and unmolested.
The constitutionally guaranteed freedom to live normal lives is fast becoming a luxury across the country and unfortunately, more pronounced in the Southeast. The other day, a Mobile Policeman and a crew member of a MultiChoice team heading to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State for coverage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Knights of Libya were killed by gunmen along Isseke-Orlu Road in Ihiala, Anambra State. Six members of the crew who were kidnapped were later rescued, according to the spokesman of Imo State Police Command, Superintendent Tochukwu Ikenga.
In September, Enugu residents raised concern over a spate of killings suspected to be the handiwork of assassins, following the killing of Chief Stephen Aniagu, chairman of Ogbete Main Market Traders Association. Aniagu’s killing was reported to follow a similar trend in the state since 2022, without the killers being brought to account despite assurances by the state and security operatives.
In February 2023, the senatorial candidate of the Labour Party for Enugu East District, who was also chairman of the Oji-River branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Oyibo Chukwu, was murdered in a similar manner. The Police blamed unknown gunmen for that killing while family members suspected political motives. There are other fatal incidents following similar patterns across states in the zone. These are all condemnable.
The phenomenon of ‘unknown gunmen’ and the many atrocities they have carried out especially in Imo State, including jailbreaks and arson is appalling. The resort by the State to label criminals as unknown gunmen just to disguise a failure to hold perpetrators of such violence to account is equally detestable. It must be noted that the Southeast has not always been ungovernable until recent years. There are both political and criminal tendencies that fuel unrest in the zone. The imperative of a conscientious diagnosis of the situation cannot be over-emphasised, so that criminals and their sponsors as well as politicians who stoke trouble are appropriately exposed and punished.
The weekly sit-at-home order that is a subset of the unrest must be abolished by constituted authorities. It is unheard of that non-state actors can legislate and enforce holidays that have far-reaching consequences on lives, the economy and the social well-being of the people.
Where there are opportunities for political solutions to some of the fundamental causes of lawlessness, including the unending trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, those in position should not hesitate to wave the olive branch. The Federal Government should make Nigeria governable to enable law-abiding citizens to live and do business in peace. The government must take over spaces that are presently superintended by criminals and bandits. Sponsors of terrorists and troublemakers everywhere, no matter their status should be exposed and punished to deter others of similar mindset.
That the Southeast, the commercial hub for industry and commerce across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has morphed into a hotbed for agitation and separatist agenda is most unfortunate. All concerned must see to it that the agitation is addressed and that it is for the good of the entire country. If some are benefitting from the crisis, they must be fished out. Those who go about with tales such as ‘the zone is safe’ and fail to relate the true position to federal policymakers should desist from such treachery. The stability of one zone or region is also the stability and well-being of the entire country. As Nigeria is today, any group looking for grievance will find it in abundance whereas inclusivity is a high value that the country must pursue.
Concerned authorities at both the state and federal levels must seek to balance all aspects of the federation and make every region and constituency feel at home in Nigeria. States must also justify the huge security votes they appropriate for themselves, and seek to effectively translate these to the security and welfare of the people, which is the primary purpose of government, enshrined in the constitution that they all swore to uphold. Pretending that all is well and looking away from the crisis cannot help the country in the long run.
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