How Activities of Gunmen Is Leading To “Desertification” of Communities in Igboland
By Peter Uzoma
The growing spate of insecurity in Nigeria is fast generating a devastating effect in the socio-economic and well being of the masses.
Worse hit in this scenario is the South Eastern part of the country. Known for its hospitable status and rare ingenuity that made it stand out among other parts of the country. The five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo were a bedlam of progress, but currently being distorted by growing insecurity.
In Imo State, plethora of kidnap cases, cult related incidents, armed robbery and assassination records fueled by the activities of unknown gunmen have made life unbearable.
Available reports Trumpeta sourced have it that the Imo State Police Command indeed carried out an operation against kidnappers and robbers in 2017. According to available information, around 30 suspects were arrested on May 6, 2017, at Amucha in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State. The suspects were involved in various crimes, including kidnapping and armed robbery. Some of the arrested individuals were students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The police recovered stolen items, including laptops, SIM cards, and dangerous weapons. The Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, stated that the suspects would be charged to court soon.
The same remains of other parts of the state. Early in this year, a traditional ruler was kidnapped in Okigwe, though later rescued after operatives of the Nigerian police and other security agencies stormed their hideout. More pathetic is the case of a couple who was abducted. While the man was beheaded and killed, the wife got spared due to her pregnancy. The situation worsened after innocent and defenceless citizens who condemned these acts became targets. A young woman who is from Umuagwo Okwelle, in Onuimo LGA of Imo State but reside in Lagos as a teaching staff and head of department at Command Secondary schools in Lagos became a target of the daredevil gunmen. Her life was at risk when the rampaging criminals made several attempts to not only abduct her in any part of Nigeria, including Lagos, but also eliminate her unjustly.
Reason for her hunt by the gunmen cannot be divorced from her stance against the activities of the criminals. As a practicing Christian, she had been preaching alongside her christian group against the criminal activities of these outlawed agents. Her preachings against them may have also angered the gunmen to move against her for suspected possible elimination.
For fear of her life and due to lack of safety in Lagos where daring attempts were made to get rid of her, the woman disappeared from circulation and whereabouts unknown even to her immediate family.
What may have informed her decision to run away was the abduction of a female soldier of South East extraction who was on her way to Okigwe part of Imo State to spend time with the family. The brutal killing of the abducted woman soldier sent shivers down the spines of people of the area who are suspected to have fled the country for their dear lives.
Also pathetic is the story of another particular woman who is from the area and abducted by the said unknown gunmen. No clue about what the criminals did to her as her whereabouts remains unknown till date.
What may have also informed the decision of the woman from Umuagwo Okwelle to leave her Lagos abode without traces was the killing of a security guard in the house of his younger brother Mr Nelson, in their community, after their family house was raided. The incident was a signpost of danger forcing the teacher to flee for safety when it appeared that her kinsmen are part of the dreaded armed wing of pro Biafra agitators known as Eastern Security Network, ESN and Ebube Agu Militia. Both groups are known for revealing of vital information about identities of people, especially, those opposed to their nefarious activities in the area. They are in the habits of tracing their targets to any part of the country to unleash terror.
In the face of disturbing trends in parts of Okigwe zone of Imo State, especially in Umuagwo Okwelle, well meaning people of the community have been appealing to government authorities and security agencies to intervene since residents of the area, especially women and children have deserted the community for fear of attacks on them by the unrepentant marauders.
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