…As killings, sit-at-home continue despite governments, security agencies’ efforts
Despite the threats and efforts by state governments and all the security agencies to end the orgy of killings, criminal activities by some elements, and the imposed sit-at-home in the South East geo-political zone, these have continued.
Some state governors came to power brimming with the strength and effort to end the sit-at-home, but close to two years now, nothing much seems to have happened, as people have continued to be kidnapped and killed in the zone.
Insecurity in the South-East region of Nigeria has left in its trail thousands of deaths and destruction of property worth billions of naira and thousands of people have been displaced from their ancestral homes. Many attempts have been made to apportion blame for the cause of the lingering insecurity, but none has boldly pinned it down to a particular issue.
As part of the search for the root cause of the crises, a report on the security crisis in the region was unveiled recently in Enugu, which attempted to identify some issues behind the crisis.
The report by human rights groups blamed the unfortunate situation in the region on a complex web of issues, such as mishandling of pro-Biafra agitation, insurgency, gun proliferation, and criminal politics by a corrupt political class; cultism and occultism, as well as impunity by the law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system in the country.
It also noted that these internal problems are compounded by external factors, including state-sponsored vigilantes, misappropriated funds, and political-crime links.
The report, titled: ‘Unveiling the Roots of Insecurity, Healing the Wounds of Human Rights Violations in South-East Nigeria: A Path Towards Peace, Open Democratic Space, and a Prosperous Future,’ was put together by Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in partnership with Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS).
One of the factors, according to the report, is that “elections are routinely rigged, silencing dissent and denying millions their voices,” which it said was not good for democratic competition, but promotes “political violence, with gangs clashing for control.”
According to the report, the consequences of rigged elections in the region go beyond just stolen elections, but leads to “mismanaged resources and squandered potential, thereby robbing the people of their future.” It also stated that “this rampant corruption leaves communities mired in poverty, suffocated by the greed of people in power.”
“The 2023 elections offered no respite, sinking to new depths of depravity. Politicians, emboldened by impunity, openly armed and recruited gangs to terrorise opponents and citizens alike. These gangs, emboldened by their role in rigging the polls, further spread violence and insecurity across the region.
“The cost of these unchecked gangsters is staggering. scores, including women and children, have been killed or injured in gang clashes. Yet, no one has been held accountable, leaving victims and families to grapple with trauma and loss without justice.th trauma and loss without justice.
“Impunity also pervades the criminal justice system. Basic rights are routinely disregarded, particularly towards those associated with pro-Biafra groups. Torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings are commonplace in the region, with estimates suggesting over 2,000 people executed or disappeared since 2015.”
The report, “The economic toll of this insecurity is severe. capital flight, business closures, and skilled worker emigration cripple the regional economy. Sit-at-home protests championed, by factions of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in cahoots with elements of organised crime, further amplify the decline, pushing it to its lowest point.”
According to the report, understanding the insecurity in the South-East demands a detailed examination of historical grievances, economic hardship, institutional weaknesses, and the interplay between State actors, armed groups, and communities. The roots of this issue run deep, intertwined with the complex challenges of governance and responsible political leadership in the region as well as weak institutions and corruption that are conducive to thriving illicit arms production and trafficking.
Also, failure to deliver good governance fuels grievances and fosters distrust in state authorities, leaving communities vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups.
It is however, observed that over 90percent of the violent attacks, abductions and other security breaches in the South-East State are masterminded, by hoodlums, who have made the region’s forest reserves their operational camps.
For instance, Anambra State in the last few months has virtually been held hostage by sundry criminal elements, through uncountable violent attacks, kidnappings, wanton destructions and mindless orgy of killings.
Just recently, Godwin Okpala, a professor and retired Anglican Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, regained his freedom from yet-to-be-identified hoodlums, who abducted him alongside his driver in Anambra State.
Okpala, a 75-year-old retired Archbishop, regained his freedom over the week, after spending about 25 days in the kidnappers’ den together with his driver.
IPOB’s sit-at-home order
Obinna Nwagbara, executive director, Youth and Students Advocates for Development Initiative (YSAD), said that people’s compliance to the Sit-at-home order in the South-East, was a combination of fear of the enforcers and support for the call to release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB.
“In Aba for instance, markets are open on Mondays, but most people who have shops in those markets chose not to go to the markets on Mondays in protest, because markets do not operate as they should on Mondays, banks and schools do not open on Mondays for fear of attack. In a place like Umuahia, people go about their businesses on Mondays,” he said.
He observed that security agencies are not overwhelmed with the security situation in the South-East, but alleged that they were taking advantage of it to violate the rights of citizens, by harassing, assaulting and extorting citizens.
“Permit me to say that the police and army, especially, are promoting the insecurity in the South East, by engaging in such activities that provoke law abiding citizens. No sane society will accept what security agencies are doing on the roads; even on the streets.
“The argument of IPOB and others calling for Biafra is that South-East is marginalised by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Rather than address the issue of marginalisation that was raised, by these groups, FG is now hiding under the cloak of fighting agitators to extort and frustrate law abiding citizens in the region, using law enforcement agencies,” Nwagbara further observed.
Ugochukwu Okezie, a public relations expert, buttressed Nwagbara’s stand on compliance to sit-at-home order, saying that it was in support for the enforcers.
Some observers also said that many political actors in the region were sponsoring insecurity to perpetuate themselves in power.
“I can tell you that some politicians in the zone are behind the escalation of insecurity in Igboland. Can you imagine that a state governor in the South East said openly that there are some parts of his state that he cannot go for fear of attack? If a governor is afraid of going to some parts of the state that he governs, what does that tell you? They sponsor all manner of attacks and blame members of the opposition. Lots of negative things are happening in the zone sponsored by politicians and other interest groups,” an analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Solution to insecurity in South-East
The big task in the region now is how to dismantle criminal organisations, sever their political connections, and tackle the root causes of poverty and suffering of the people. Also, there is a need to address the issue of misinformation that attributes all crimes in the zone to insurgency.
What is required are efforts and support from stakeholders, including government, security agencies, monarchs, community leaders, and civil rights groups, among others, to seek deeper insights into the root causes and drivers of insecurity, and make effective recommendations to curb them.
A de-escalation strategy that prioritises dialogue and respect for human rights is urgently needed. Investigating and holding accountable perpetrators of abuses, both within the military and civilian spheres, is essential to restore trust and prevent further violence.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, executive director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in his remarks before the report was unveiled, explained that the report was an attempt to document and “project the correct narrative about the roots, drivers, actors, patterns, dimensions, and effects of insecurity in the South-East.”
The report, he further explained, was the product of various stakeholders meeting and brainstorming on insecurity in the South-East.
“What came out clearly in all the conversations was that the Federal Government is simply not interested in listening to the voices of reason in or about the South-East. It is not paying attention to the plight of the people and is not interested in sincerely addressing or solving the problems of the people of the zone,” even as he squarely blamed the Federal Government “for its failure to adopt an open-minded and holistic approach in responding to insecurity in the South-East.”
The Federal Government, Nwanguma said, is simply driven by the mindset- as revealed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, during his interview with Arise TV in 2021: “To speak to the people in the language that they understand.”
He lamented their findings in the course of their investigation, saying it “paints a bleak picture of public security policies in the region that is heavily reliant on repressive police and military action, often with excessive force,” adding: “The police in the South-East have acted in compliance with reckless directives, such as the “shoot on sight” order by former President Buhari in 2021 and the then Inspector-General of Police’s subsequent order on them to go after IPOB, kill them and not worry about shouts of human rights violation.
According to Nwanguma, “Not a few people of conscience were shocked to receive the information that no less than 107 citizens were indiscriminately arrested from different locations in Owerri, Imo State, and labelled IPOB members and arraigned, not in any court, but at the car park of the Shell Camp Police Division, Owerri, and later shifted to the Conference Hall of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, with some magistrates presiding.
“They were charged with offences of treason, including plots to overthrow the then President Buhari and Governor Hope Uzodinma, and remanded at the Owerri Prisons.
“The sheer number of persons arrested and arraigned in one day by the police in Imo State for purportedly conspiring to overthrow former President Buhari and Governor Hope Uzodinma was outlandish. Police did not show what weapons with which the people, including women and children, were going to carry out the overthrow. That was nothing more than a malicious declaration of war against innocent and law-abiding residents of Imo State going about their legitimate businesses.
“Another worrying dimension is the increasing control of media outlets by state governments in the region, especially the Governors of Imo and Ebonyi states, who made monitoring human rights abuses difficult, which allowed the government and security agencies to control the narratives and conceal their abuses.
“Thus, the State Government media also succeeded in pushing a single narrative by blaming every single incident of insecurity or killings in the region on the pro-Biafran separatists.
“While RULAAC rightly identified pro-Biafra agitation and insurgency as significant contributors to insecurity in the South-East, attributing the problem solely to these factors paints an incomplete picture; a lasting solution demands acknowledging the intricate web of additional forces fuelling the flames of violence in the region.”
Obinna Nwagbara, suggests that Federal Government of Nigeria should release Nnamdi Kanu and engage the agitators in a dialogue to critically look into the allegations of Igbo marginalisation since 1970 (55 years ago) when the civil War ended.
He urged the five State Governments in the South-East region to declare May 30, a public holiday; a day for the people to reflect on the Nigeria/Biafra War.
“There’s nothing wrong in that. By so doing, there will be nothing for anybody to enforce on May 30 and the deaths the South-East has recorded on May 30 in the recent past will be avoided.
He also urged government at all levels to be intentional about providing quality leadership to the people, leadership devoid of deceit- the kind of leadership that will address the problems of unemployment and poverty in the land.
Ugochukwu Okezie appealed to government at all levels to provide jobs and more jobs, create an environment that engages the youth positively, employ the media to dish out behaviour change programmes and to employ sports, as avenue for engaging the restlessness of the growing youth population.
Other observers have also urged the Federal Government to be intentional and holistic in the integration of the South East as part of Nigeria in all practical ways, beyond mere verbal claim.
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