IN recent weeks, the South-East geopolitical zone has effectively become a theatre of conflict between security agencies and non-state actors. For instance, on Thursday, the Abia State Police Command confirmed that over 100 unidentified gunmen had stormed and razed Bende Police Station in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State on Wednesday night. According to the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ogbonna Geoffrey, two police operatives were shot in the leg during the attack, while the generator house and multi-purpose house of the Bende Local Government headquarters were torched. The gunmen freed the suspects detained at the station and burnt down two vehicles and three motorcycles, including a Highlander SUV belonging to the DPO of Bende Police Station. The attack was staged barely six hours after the state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, left the Bende headquarters after a civic reception held in honour of Honourable Nnenna Ukeje, a three-time representative of the Bende Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. It was preceded by the burning of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) office at Amaekpu.
Truth be told, the incident at Bende illustrates only a little slice of what goes on in the South-East on a daily basis. As Nigerians are well aware, the month of April witnessed a breakdown of the security arrangements in Imo State. The police command headquarters and the correctional facility in the state were brazenly attacked by gunmen who brought the state’s security architecture to its knees. The story is eerily similar in Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra states. Going by reports in the media, police officers and men deployed to the South-East states are currently deserting their stations. If or when they come to work at all, they do so in mufti. The police uniform has become anathema. Worse still, it has become increasingly difficult for the police to arrest suspects in neighbourhoods or keep suspects in the cell before taking them to court. The metaphorical and proverbial “unknown gunmen” are always on hand to set the ‘captives’ free, and destroy every symbol of Nigerian nationhood in sight.
The attacks have of course not been restricted to policemen: soldiers and members of the numerous paramilitary agencies have also come under attack by the rampaging gunmen. Sadly, ignoring the lessons of history, the Federal Government has opted for a purely military solution to a problem which has its roots in the quest for self-determination fuelled largely by the dysfunctions of the Nigerian state. Yet, rather too frequently, the military might of the Nigerian state is being called into question in the South-East, an indication that military onslaught offers no realistic solution to the insecurity in the zone. To be sure, the Federal Government enabled this sorry pass through its sloppy handling of developments in the zone. At the onset of the latest crisis, it gave agitators in the zone no room to express their grievances. It needlessly wielded the instruments of suppression and hastily branded the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) a terror group while leaving Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, two of the deadliest terror organisations featured prominently on the Global Terrorism Index, untouched. Has it ever occurred to the Muhammadu Buhari administration that the UK government offered asylum to IPOB members for a reason?
Besides, it has aggravated the current crisis with ethnically insensitive statements and appointments. Pray, where are the top Igbo officials in government that can pacify the agitators? It is bad optics that the South-East is not represented in critical organs of the state such as service chiefs. The foregoing is, of course, not an endorsement of the atrocious and horrendous activities credited to IPOB/ESN and “unknown gunmen”. It is difficult, if not impossible, to absolve these organisations of the charges of lawlessness levelled against them. The IPOB/ESN members must be ready and willing to negotiate with the Nigerian government and come to an understanding regarding the issues at stake. In our view, a fundamental restructuring of the polity will address most, if not all, of the concerns raised by the agitators. It is important for both parties to recognise that in this kind of situation, there can be no military solution. The two sides must come to the negotiating table and as a precondition for peace, the violent attacks on policemen, police stations and other facilities must cease.
We urge the government to learn lessons from the history of guerrilla movements such as the Mau Mau and convene peace talks without delay. The situation in the South-East requires tact and diplomacy.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Handling the security crisis Handling the security crisis
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Handling the security crisis Handling the security crisis