By Jude Opara

The security situation in Imo State is again getting the mention for the wrong reasons and if care is not taken, the state can once more slide into a major security flashpoint. A few months ago, the once peaceful state was a ghost of itself after armed men tagged “unknown gunmen” went on rampage attacking security outfits.

The spate of attacks started after the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) floated its arms wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

IPOB had claimed to have floated that outfit to counter the activities of armed herdsmen who have been terrorizing the people of the South East with little or no effort to stop them.  

But as soon as the ESN was formed, security agencies probably relying on the proscription of IPOB by the federal government decided to clamp down on the ESN.

Troops were deployed to the South East to confront the youths. In fact, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state owned up that he invited the military to carry out a military operation in Orlu which left scores of the youths killed.

There was also the surprise attack on the Correctional Centre in Owerri, the state capital. What made that attack surprising is the fact that it was reported that over 1,844 inmates were freed after the attack that lasted for about three hours on April 5, 2021. The Correctional Centre is located at a place that could be considered as the most secured in Owerri because it is within the vicinity of the Force Headquarters, the Government House and the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS), Imo state command.  

Ever since, the state had known little or no peace as the youths and security agencies continued to attack each other. Public facilities especially the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in many parts of the region have been torched.

The government responded by dispatching the Police Special Forces team to the region and to a large extent, they actually maintained the peace and gradually Imo state started returning to its old self as people started kick starting their businesses.

But in the past few days one has started getting the disturbing report of the resumption of attacks on security agencies and even individuals. The signature of these latest attacks suggests that the security agencies should spread their tentacles while investigating these crimes instead of the easy resort to blaming IPOB and the ESN for every crime in the South East region.

Recall that when the former Presidential aide and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Gulak was killed by yet to be identified gunmen near the Imo Airport on May 30, the security operatives literarily waged a war on the youths of the state with several of them killed extra judicially. This happened even as Gulak who sources say became a regular caller to the state since Governor Hope Uzodinma of the APC was named governor by the Supreme Court was said to have been on a private visit which was not known to the people of the state. The handling of that incident left much to be desired as no fewer than 15 people were said to have been gunned down by operatives in different parts of the state including a Germany returnee, Oguchi Unachukwu who was going to the Imo Airport enroot Lagos.    

It could be remembered that after the attacks at the Correctional Centre, Governor Uzodinma came out to state that over 70% of the suspects arrested at the wake of that attack were people from outside the South East. But curiously, till date nobody has heard anything again about those suspects and who they were really.

It is not hidden that there are several people especially from the North living in the region. In fact, during the Covid-19 lockdown, hundreds of lorries and other articulated vehicles were seen on a daily basis ferrying thousands of youths from the North to the South. All those migrants were able-bodied men and there was no record of where they were going and where they are at the moment.

The issue of security must not be treated with the mindset of ‘we and them’ as it is with almost everything about Nigeria. Many analysts had raised alarm about those migrants and there are a lot of people who strongly believe that most of the people who are today in every village and clan in Nigeria are not Nigerians but illegal migrants from neigbouring African countries. Yes, they may be Hausa or Fulani, but that should not accord them the citizenship of Nigeria without any documentation. Nigeria has been battling with a disturbing security situation in every part of the country and hence the need for all hands to be on deck to stem the ugly tide.  

So chances could be that most of these heinous crimes in Imo state are being carried out by these illegal aliens who have now integrated themselves into the society. Interestingly, members of the ESN have continued to deny any involvement in the burning of public offices in the zone.

Even if there are Nigerians among them, people must not just because of the right to movement leave their place of abode and migrate to another state without any concrete plan of where to stay and what to do while there.

For instance, on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, vigilant operatives of the 72 Special Forces Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Makurdi, made a timely catch for which they deserve to be commended.

They intercepted five trucks conveying 73 young men and 47 brand new Bajaj motorcycles as well as some minerals such as lead, zinc and baryte from Plateau State allegedly meant for a company in Port Harcourt. But the arrested young men who were owners of the motor bikes said they were going to Imo State “for greener pasture”.

As we speak there is no news of any sudden economic boom in Imo state or even the entire South-East that could attract the sudden migration to that area for the so called greener pasture. Therefore, the real motive of those who were said to have been traced to Nasarawa State must be determined because the government of Imo state for a long time banned the operation of commercial motorcycles and tricycles. This is so because as we speak, there is an established presence of Boko Haram and bandit terrorists in Nasarawa state and the North-Central.

Certainly, there must be people at the rear sponsoring these able bodied youths and we all know how effectively the terrorists in the North-West and North-Central have effectively made the use of motorbikes in the nefarious activities. They easily use them to invade and attack communities. For instance from what we have seen in videos, one motorbike can carry three people and if you have about 50 motorbikes, that will give you 150 fully armed militia and I tell you they can wreck maximum havoc on any unsuspecting community and even security outfit.

This also means that the state of insecurity in the state should be handled dispassionately. The idea of blaming IPOB and the ESN for every violent crime in the state must be jettisoned. Already we have started seeing the signature crime of the Boko Haram and other dreaded terrorists that hitherto operated in the North. Recently a man was beheaded in a community in Mbaise and his head placed on a table in the market place.

The people of Imo State and the South-East are Nigerians and they deserve the protection of the security agencies. The security agencies must desist from seeing everybody in the area as an enemy that must be subdued.  Many analysts believe that at the moment, the security operatives in the South-East act as if they are at war with the people and with that mindset, there is no way they will not be biased. That was why citizen Unachukwu was killed by soldiers.

We have all seen the sudden ‘breakthrough’ of the Police who after arresting (some say abducting) a 21 year old Glory Okolie since June 17, kept her incommunicado recently told the world how the same girl was an IPOB informant. This girl was secretly brought to Abuja and even turned into a maid for the Police until the family and human rights activists started asking questions and traced her to be in the hands of the Police in Abuja.

The truth remains that unless the security situation in Imo is carefully handled with wisdom and professionalism, it will snowball into other parts of the South-East and South-South. We must learn from history because what is for example happening today in Plateau state where the seeming double standard approach of the government in dealing with issues have led to serial killings which is spiraling out of control.

The Police, Armed Forces and other security agencies must begin to operate in such a way that the people will once more have confidence in them. They must learn to discharge their responsibilities without any atom of ethnic bias.