IPOB, ESN Agitators and Rising Insecurity in Southeast

For many years, South-Eastern Nigeria was considered the safest geopolitical zone in the country. The five eastern states that form the zone had always recorded the least spate of violent attacks in comparison with other parts of the country. 

For instance, in the 2019 report, Nigeria Mourns reported that the southeast recorded the least number of reported killings with 94 deaths, while the southwest recorded 157 deaths, followed by the south-south with 341 deaths. North-central recorded 469 deaths and the northeast had 1009 while the northwest had the highest with 1,118 deaths.

 

However, in 2020, southeastern states began to record killings from herdsmen and bandits. And when the government and security agencies were slow to handle it, amid growing concerns about the violence and kidnappings associated with bandits and rogue herders, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is now facing criminal charges, on December 13, 2022, launched a security outfit called the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

 

The Ipob leader claimed that ESN just like Amotekun, (a security outfit established by the governors of the southwest to curb insecurity in that geopolitical zone) is set up to protect the southeast from “criminal activity”.

 

This angered the southeastern governors who did not only reject the ESN but went ahead to set up their own security outfit called Ebubeagu.  This action of these governors did not go well with the IPOB group as they accused the southeastern governors of dishonesty and working against the interest of the zone.  

The governors who do not want a non-state actor like IPOB to control a security outfit quickly move for the proscription of the group calling them a terrorist group. This further aggravated the already grieved group. Soon both parties turned enemies, working to bring down each other in every possible way.

 

Now, the once most peaceful region is fast turning to trap with several killer groups and counter groups in various states in the zone, ranging from the killer herdsmen, unknown gunmen, secessionist agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which have turned radical and violent, as well as the government’s countermeasures, further deteriorating the security of the region.

In recent times, many criminals including political thugs and assassins hide under IPOB/ESN to commit all kinds of evil. It has become even more difficult to track criminals as every criminal activity is branded as IPOB doings, and so making it an easy escape for other criminals in the zone.

There have been many audacious attacks targeting state security facilities and personnel in the region. On several occasions, gunmen attacked police headquarters and correctional service in different parts of the zone freeing thousands of inmates and also looting the police armouries. The police spokespersons accused IPOB’s armed unit ESN of being culpable. 

This is because some hours after the attack, Kanu, IPOB’s leader, made a tweet supporting the jailbreak. Much as IPOB has denied involvement in the incident, saying it is not in the group’s mandate to attack security personnel and prisons, it has become difficult to disassociate them from such criminal acts.

 

 As escalating attacks on civilians and government facilities and security personnel in the southeast continues. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and media reports show that killings in the southeast rose by 555.7 percent between 2020 and 2021, which is after the security outfit was set up.

The analysis was from January 1, 2020, to December 12, 2021. Reported killings associated with domestic violence and mob justice were excluded.

Based on the data obtained, the southeast recorded 97 deaths in reported violent attacks between January 1, 2020, and December 12, 2020, while 636 deaths were recorded in reported violent attacks between December 13, 2020, and December 12, 2021. 

States	Deaths before ESN 2020	Deaths before after 2021
Abia	15	70
Anambra	21	187
Ebonyi	35	103
Enugu	09	68
Imo	17	208
TOTAL	97	636

Aside from the killings, kidnapping, and destruction of property, the region still suffers economic ruin. There are usually Sit-at-home orders on Mondays by the IPOB in protest of the detention of the IPOB leader who was arrested by the Federal Government for allegedly fueling crises in the southeast and other crimes.

So, businesses in the zone are halted as residents in this zones are asked to stay at home any day the group decides to give such an order. Many individuals who defaulted never lied to tell the story. Some were kidnapped and others were killed.

In the midst of rising insecurity in the region, it is surprising to the people that the government at all levels is doing little to mobilize security operatives to tackle this menace once and for all and liberate the people of the zone from the bondage of insecurity.

Good enough, the region has no big forests with difficult terrain that could frustrate such operations. Why the governors are reluctant to take joint action to tackle this menace destroying the region is difficult for the people of the region to comprehend.

While many continue to accuse IPOB of fueling the insecurity, the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, has maintained that the insecurity in the zone and particularly his state is politically motivated and that those who carried out the attacks were mercenaries from other places.

Many observers have, however, urged the security agencies to go beyond sentiment and carry out a thorough investigation to unearth those behind the series of attacks in the state.

Conclusion

The government at all levels should dialogue with IPOB and seek a “negotiated settlement” for Kanu who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS), so that we can be united in the fight against insecurity and further prevent criminals from hiding under IPOB to commit all manner of atrocities.  

South-east governors should set up a “robust regional” security outfit that will prioritize the activation of a community-driven early warning system and enhanced identification of residents or visitors.