IMO GUBER 2023: Imo Now Notoriously Among Most Violent States In The World
By Sampson Dike
As Imo State prepares for the forthcoming governorship election, it is trite to note that every patriotic resident in the state should be voting for somebody with the capacity to stop the killings in the state and restore peace.
Senator Hope Uzodimma the incumbent Governor of the State has at various times issues out threats to those he claims are the mastermind of the insecurity in the state, thereby giving the unfortunate situation a political colouration.
His perspective may have come to naught as everybody including those he is pointing fingers at are all victims of the situation.
We cannot forget in a hurry that at the beginning of the year 2023, on January 1, 2023, the former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim was attacked by daredevil gunmen, leaving four policemen on his convoy dead.
The former Governor of the State, Senator Rochas Okorocha’s convoy was recently attacked and one police officer was killed.
In Uzodimma’s camp, most of his aides and supporters have also suffered the same faith. A local government Chairman in Ideato slaughtered like a goat in a live viral video. Others supporting him for second term in office have also harvested cruelty, including setting their houses ablaze. These are signals so easy to understand.
There is no denying the fact that Imo State is a hot bed of killings, a Golgotha where innocent people are slaughtered like cows.
While Mexico holds the record to have produced the most violent cities in the world with Tijuana, Acapulco and Ciudad Victoria among others followed by Venezuela and Brazil, apart from States occupied by insurgents in Nigeria, Imo is fast joining the the world renowned destinations known for mindless violence and killings.
The local government and cities that have been held under siege for the past three years in Imo are Orlu, Orsu, Oru East, Okigwe and Njaba local government areas. This is not to say that Owerri is also safe as people are reportedly killed at intervals.
It has been a tale of horror in these areas and the residents are fast migrating in droves in search of a safe heaven to earn a decent leaving without fear of annihilation.
Government response to this has rather been counter productive with the sad tales of the activities of Ebubeagu leading to deaths of innocent youths.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had accused accused Ebubeagu of the murder of the traditional ruler of Obudi Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, HRH Eze (Dr) Ignatius Asor.
In the same vein, Uzodimma’s vigilante group had also been alleged of being behind the killings of Awomamma youths but Uzodimma was quick to rebuff that, revealing it was the Nigerian Secret Police, DSS, that perpetrated the killings, describing the deads as bandits.
On February 2, 2023, there reports of the murder of Magistrate in the Court in Oguta with also reports of killing of five police operatives.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye had reported: “The Imo state Police Command on Friday said the gunmen who killed the president of the customary court, Nnemeka Ugboma, at Ejemakwuru, Oguta local government area in the state, last Thursday were five in number.”
Not even Traditional Rulers are spared as many of them have been cut down either barrel of the guns or machetes of the unknown gunmen.
In October 2021, 2021, three traditional rulers were murdered. It was reported they were having meetings at the local government council when the gunmen stormed the facilities and opened fire. Meanwhile the reports had it that security men were attached to them, nothing meaningful has been explained to the families of the dead and Imo people.
The slain traditional rulers were identified as E. Duruebere of Okwudor autonomous community and Sampson Osunwa of Ihebinowerre autonomous community, both in Njaba.
On May 26, 2023, gunmen also killed Victor Ijioma, the traditional ruler of Orsu Obodo in Oguta LGA, Imo state. The monarch was attacked on Thursday at Umuamaka junction in Izombe town. Ijioma was said to have been shot inside his car, after which his body was set ablaze.
The Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, on Saturday, January 1, 2022 in his new year broadcast had blamed the opposition for the worsening insecurity in the state. He has continued to make the allegations, which seemed not to have any vinculum to the root cause.
Tackling Governor Uzodimma, the Governorship Candidate of PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu accuse during a media parley accused Uzodimma of cluelessness and accusing innocent politicians. He described Uzodimma and his Government as woeful.
He decried the spate of killings, especially the youngsters who are innocent of the crisis in the state. He said that in Orlu Zone of 12 local governments, five of them are under siege and no go area.
A group under the aegis of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, a human rights group, in May 2023 had expressed concern over the killings in Imo State in the last year. The group condemned the act and called for international criminal inquiries to assist in unraveling what’s happening in the state.
According to Intersociety, there is no need “to inquire into the gruesome killings of unarmed civilians and the burning down of peoples’ houses in the guise of fighting criminal elements” in the Imo state.
They noted that the criminal inquiries will aid in unmasking the real identities of those behind the atrocities.
The group lamented the frequency at which people were being “killed, abducted, disappeared, arbitrarily arrested/detained and tortured” in Imo State and by extension the South East region.
Releasing a report of its investigation on the killing in Imo State, Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Chairman of Intersociety, claimed that “no fewer than 1600 unarmed citizens of Imo State have been killed while 300 others disappeared without trace between January 2021 and May 2023, a period of 29 months”.
According to Umeagbalasi, the investigation showed that “over 700 persons also sustained life-threatening injuries with over 900 others abducted within the same period under review”.
Quoting from the 33-page document entitled “Special Research and Investigative Report”, which he presented to journalists in Enugu.
As the gale of killings continue, gunmen shot dead an unidentified man believed to be a trader at Naze Timber Market in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.
It was gathered the deceased who some people disclosed was a trader at the multi-billion naira timber market was shot dead on Monday.
A member of Owerri building material association, who pleaded not to be mentioned, said: “The Police were fingered for shooting the trader this morning.”
However Imo Police spokesman Henry Okoye who confirmed the incident denied operatives were involved in the shooting.
” Information I have gathered so far indicates it’s not the Police that shot him.
More so, the DPO in charge of the area has since been mobilized to the scene for on-the-spot analysis and discreet investigation.
“However, the Command is yet to receive official report from him. Once I receive it, I’ll relay accordingly,” he said.
Certainly Imo State has joined the league of most violent States with cities where life has become short, nasty and brutish.
Reacting to the the Awo-omamma massacre, the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, in July 2022 gave Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, seven days to resign as governor of the state or face impeachment from Imo State House of Assembly.
It is a truism that Imo State does not have an independent legislative arm of the government but and extension of Imo State Government House where they take orders from the Governor for their legislative agenda.
The State no doubt has produced local government that are as violent at the world most violent cities.
This should form the basic thrust of 2023 election. If it were to be in a saner clime, Uzodimma ought to have thrown in the towel, have failed in the first line charge of his office as the Chief Security Officer of the State.
