Turning the South-East into a valley of death

In this piece, GRACE EGBO, MICHAEL OVAT AND JOHNKENNEDY UZOMA report the deepening climate of fear in the South-East following the destruction of police formations, killing of security agents and the burning of offices belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Nothing aptly captures the general mood of the South-East more than the degenerating state of insecurity, especially with the destruction of police stations and offices belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the deadly attacks on police officers, in most cases leading to the death of the security operatives.

In Anambra State, it started with the killing of four police officers and the burning of police vehicles. The attacks happened in Nkpologu community in Aguata Local Government Area and Omogho in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state. Sources said the gunmen drove into the police stations, pumping bullets into the air and also setting vehicles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force on fire. It was also gathered that while two policemen were killed in Nkpologu, two were killed in Omogho.

At Aguata, gunmen disrupted an interactive session between Isuofia youths and a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and aspirant of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6 governorship election, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, at the town’s civic centre. Three policemen were reportedly shot dead during the attack, with many supporters missing.

While the dust of the Isuofia attack was yet to settle, some gunmen attacked Zone 13 police headquarters, Ukpo, in Dunukofia Local Government Area of the state. They also set ablaze cars parked within the premises.

By the middle of March 2021, the Navy had its own share of the violence as four of its personnel lost their lives in two separate ambush attacks in Onitsha and Okwuzu Naval outposts.

A few days after this, gunmen attacked Obosi police station in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, killing two police officers and freeing all detainees. It was gathered that the attack happened barely 24 hours after the state’s new commissioner of police, Christopher Adetokunbo Owolabi assumed office.

A reliable source within the affected police station said that the gunmen in their large number stormed and attacked the station at about 11pm, leaving two police inspectors dead, while all the suspects in the cell were freed before razing down the police station.

In Enugu, gunmen reportedly ambushed the Divisional Police Headquarters, Adani in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state. Sources confirmed that the attack on the police station started at about 2:30am and lasted for one hour.

In Abia State, five police officers were ambushed and killed in a similar manner by gunmen at Ohiafa Local Government Area. Some students of Abia State University, Uturu, were kidnapped at about 8 pm, on the Okigwe-Uturu highway when they were travelling in a van. The kidnapped students, it was gathered, were marched into a nearby bush by their armed abductors.

Imo State, the eastern heartland, has, in the last one month been bedevilled with series of attacks and counter-attacks orchestrated by a protracted insecurity in the land. The chain of attacks has created serious tension in all parts of the state thereby making the once peaceful state a frustrated one without progress.

The disturbing situation started as an aftermath of the EndSARS protest which upturned the serenity of the once peaceful state.

It will be recalled that two prominent federal institutions, the correctional services headquarters in Owerri as well as the headquarters of the Imo State police command were attacked. In the course of the attacks, there were recorded cases of havoc wreaked. A good number of prison inmates escaped while a part of the prison building was set on fire.

Few days before the incident, some police stations in local government areas such as Mbaitoli, Mbaise, and Obowo had been attacked by gunmen who killed security personnel and burnt down police stations.

As the state was yet to come out of the shock of the attack, the ugly news of the attack of the hometown of the state governor, Hope Uzodimma in Oru East Local Government Area, on April 24, 2021, was received with utter dismay. The attack witnessed the alleged killing of five security personnel and the destruction of vehicles.

Before the attack on the governor’s hometown, a combined team of security personnel had raided the abode of members of the Eastern Security Network at Oguta/ Awo junction where its then leader, Ikonso and five other members were killed.

There was also a reported attack at an army checkpoint at Ukwuoji by hoodlums where a stray bullet killed a woman at her farm land. Her body was discovered few days after the incident. Two days after, Okigwe Police Divisional Headquarters, Isiala Mbano, was attacked, leaving five police officers dead, while one was discovered to be missing. On Friday, 30 April, 2021, a businessman, Noel Chigbu, was shot dead by soldiers at Akwakuma.

For Rivers State, it is also a rash of attacks. Residents woke up Saturday morning to the shocking news of the killing of seven policemen by gunmen who attacked three different police facilities in the state. The three different locations of the attacks were a special checkpoint at Choba bridge, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rumuji police station in Emohua Local Government Area and Elimgbu Police Station, also in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

The attacks, coming at a time when there was a subsisting dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the state government, exposed the state’s susceptibility and vulnerability. The attacks made it three of such incidents within a period of less than one month and after just a week of imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew on all parts of the 23 local government areas of the state. The curfew was considered a timely response by the state government to curb the incursion of gunmen after similar attacks on Isiokpo and Omagwa axis in Ikwerre Local Government Area which also claimed the lives of eight security agents, including soldiers, custom officers and policemen.

Another attack was carried out on Monday, April 26, at Omelema community in Abua/Odual Local Government Area less than 48 hours after the Ikwerre local government attacks with the army losing five soldiers. The gunmen, it was gathered, attacked the soldiers guarding members of staff of an oil company operating in Omelema community, just as they abducted some oil workers.

In the Isiokpo and Omagwa incidents, the gunmen were reported to have attacked two security locations in parts of Rivers State in the wee hours during which eight security agents were allegedly killed.

It was gathered from a reliable source that the attacks by the gunmen were carried out simultaneously on the Joint Task Force (JTF) checkpoint along Airport Road, Omagwa and Customs checkpoint at Isiokpo, both in Ikwerre Local Government Area.

The source said “two burnt corpses were recovered at the JTF checkpoint while three were recovered at the customs checkpoint and three other bodies recovered at another location. A rifle each was stolen from the JTF and customs officers while two Hilux pickup vans with sirens were also driven off. With all these gotten, they proceeded to attempt an attack on Isiokpo Police Area Command but the policemen repelled them. Police officers in the area were on red alert, as they were hunting for the attackers.”

At Choba, the police reported that two policemen on duty were killed and a private car belonging to one of the policemen was set ablaze. Same happened at Rumuji Police Station by the same hoodlums who killed two policemen on duty and burnt a police patrol vehicle.

According to Nnamdi Omoni, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a stiff resistance by the police prevented the hoodlums from gaining access into the police station, saying that in the course of exchange of fire, two of the attackers were fatally wounded on the spot.

“In the third attack at Elimgbu Police Station, they were equally resisted by the police, though three officers were killed in that attack but the serious fire engagement made them to abandon their bullet riddled Hilux van, while they escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds with a snatched Sienna bus. The continued engagement by the police also forced them to abandon the Sienna car they were using to escape at the Refinery junction, while their remnants again escaped with bullet wounds.

“In the meantime, the corpses of the fallen heroes have been evacuated and deposited in the mortuary, while the Commissioner of Police, CP. Eboka Friday, who led members of his management team and tactical commanders to the respective scenes for an on-the-spot assessment launched a serious manhunt for the perpetrators with a view to apprehending the culprits and bringing them to justice,” the command added.

Even with the seeming timely response and stiff resistance by the police, the force still sustained heavy casualties, seven in all, just as it had an operations vehicle burnt, with five rifles lost.

More so, the range and spread of the attacks and their getaway routes indicate that the attackers might not just be visitors but more entrenched in the state than the government and people believe. Before the latest attacks, the state governor, Nyesom Wike, had, among other steps, imposed a curfew on the state as a step to ensure that attacks by gunmen happening in neighbouring states, especially Imo, do not infiltrate Rivers State. The governor’s move was widely acknowledged and applauded. Part of the moves to boost security was also the mobilisation of the members of the Rivers State Neighborhood Watch Corps Agency which held orientation briefs for thousands of its operatives drawn from all communities in the 23 local government areas of the state. This was done with the intent to boost security by operating undercover, thereby gathering intelligence information. The move also boosted the confidence of the people that perhaps such action would prevent the infiltration of unknown gunmen into the state. But with the recent attacks in the state, it is evident that the rampaging gunmen have already infiltrated deep into various parts of the state. This makes it imperative for the state government to go beyond the current strategy of imposing a curfew. It should, through its State Security Council, work in synergy with all the security agencies to deploy further strategies to smoke out and decisively deal with these merchants of death and destruction. The violence in Rivers State is not a surprise to security watchers given the proximity of the state capital, Port Harcourt, to Owerri which is part of the theatre of the growing insecurity challenge.

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