A Closer Look At The Southeast -By Nnamdi Eze

It is no news that the Southeast, once a peaceful region, is ravaged by insecurity. The Biafran agitation championed by a separatist group known as IPOB, the incarceration of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and the controversial sit at home order crippling businesses on Mondays can be said to be the genesis of the troubles bedeviling the region. There are some who accuse Fulani terrorists of wreaking havoc in the region. Some believe there are external political forces behind the crisis. Others, like H.E Soludo, the governor of Anambra state, believes the unknown gunmen are Igbo youths since all the culprits nabbed in his state were hundred percent Igbo youths. This article is not in any way intended to invalidate such claims.

Some weeks ago, a controversial video surfaced online. In the video, a young man confessed to be among the unknown gunmen terrorizing the Southeastern part of Nigeria. In the video, he also claimed to be a kidnapper, IPOB and ESN member. He identified himself as Tochukwu, a native of Orsu Local Government Area, Imo State. According to him, their activities were kidnappings, killing of security agencies and anyone suspected to be sabotaging their efforts.

Some people took the video as one of the numerous media stunts targeted at blackmailing the IPOB. Some argued how one could be among the unknown gunmen, IPOB and ESN at the same time. Recently, videos of a market (Ekeututu) in this area allegedly burnt by the military flooded the internet. This attracted public outcry and backlash against the Imo state government.

This article takes a closer look at the conflict, which has metamorphosed into a full blown war in this area. I made contact with several residents of the place but they were unwilling to aid my investigation. Later, I found someone, an indigene of Orsu. I must say, getting my source to divulge this information really took all the persuasion and coercion I could muster. He claimed the militants has divination powers to track anyone they suspect to be a saboteur to their cause. And if caught, such person would be killed and the head cut off. I had to sponsor him out of Orsu to extract this information.

The unknown gunmen camped in Orsu in the first half of 2021. But their activities were restrained due to the presence of a police station with vibrant policemen in the center of the town. Not too long after, one fateful day, the unknown gunmen razed down the police station which led to a policeman’s head allegedly cut off. This act cemented their grip on the area through which they ruthlessly enforced the sit at home directives by the IPOB on Mondays, or any other day they deemed fit. The group is now notorious for their nefarious activities such as killings, kidnappings and car snatching along Ihiala-Orlu axis.

They hoodwinked unsuspecting youths in the area into fighting the Biafran cause. They called themselves freedom agitators. Some villagers praised them with terms such as Umuoma (Meaning Good Children) and Umuchukwu (Meaning God’s Children). It is noteworthy that it was mainly thieves, cultists, rascals and all manner of illegal characters that joined the ranks of these unknown gunmen. They taught the unknown gunmen secret routes and timely information of the slightest movement of security agencies in or near the community which boosted their attacks on the military.

The governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodinma (who murdered 7 innocent boys in Oru west LGA of Imo state some months ago) has a reputation for extra-judicial killings and all manner of human rights abuses. He has since descended mercilessly on the community. Any youth who crossed paths with the military was gunned down. Houses, cars and motorcycles belonging to civilians were burnt on the allegations of being IPOB members. This explains why the popular Ekeututu village market which flourished even during the Biafran war, was burnt under the guise of hunting IPOB members. One would wonder if the unknown gunmen were traders.

The IPOB has no doubt lost the reins of the monster they unleashed on the Southeast. Their attempts to undo their deeds met stiffer resistance by the demons they evoked. They no longer drive the narrative. The struggle has shifted to the gun wielding faceless characters roaming the Southeast, parading themselves as freedom fighters.

But the battle has just begun.

The unknown gunmen are swelling in their numbers. They are getting more volunteers from those that their innocent brother, son, father, uncle, nephew or even friend was killed by the military. For the new members, it may no longer be about actualizing Biafra, It is more of revenge.

My source also ruled out returning to the southeast until it is all over. According to my source, the militants in Orsu could tell a saboteur by just sniffing. And to them, this information classifies as sabotage. Those killed by the unknown gunmen in this regard are many.

Now the villagers are stuck. On one side are the rampaging military. On the other side are the bloodthirsty unknown gunmen.

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA!

NB: IPOB has dissociated itself from the group on several occasions.