Umuopara killings: Another wake up call on security agencies
– By Eagle Okoro
Last Wednesday’s fatal attack on innocent and unsuspecting soldiers at a military checkpoint situated at Ekenobizi in Umuopara, the boundary community between Abia and Imo States by yet-to-be identified gunmen, has become one attack too many.
The dastardly affront on the military personnel was highly abominable and deserving of public condemnation. It was at best an act of cowardice, to say the least.
Of course, the only known reason for cutting short the life of the late soldiers was their khaki uniform and deployment to serve their fatherland in Abia.
The military authorities have since confirmed the attack, which claimed the lives of three operatives deployed to the checkpoint.
In a swift reaction, the Spokesman for the Joint Task Force, codenamed South-East Operation UDO KA, Lt.-Col. Jonah Unuakhalu, accused the “irredentist group of the Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network” of being behind the bestial and barbaric attack.
In a statement issued to the media in the aftermath of the attack, Unuakhalu said that the assailants came in a Sienna Bus and Lexus Jeep.
He appealed to Abia residents to assist the military authorities with useful and credible information that could help them to track down the fleeing assailants and also combat criminality in the state and South-East region at large.
The statement affirmed the resolve of the task force to protecting lives and property in line with global best practices and the rule of engagement.
It is recalled that gunmen first launched calculated bloody attacks on the state sometime in 2021, destroying police formations in Aba, Ubakala and Ugwunchara in Umuahia, Bende, Uzuakoli, and Nkporo, among others. They left in their trail dozens of casualties, including operatives.
Since then, there have been palpable apprehension and panic amongst the people.
The latest incident obviously has ruffled the serenity of a state that provides home to entrepreneurial, commercial and enterprising Nigerians, especially millions of Ndigbo of the South-East, who work out their heart to earn decent living.
It remains difficult to fathom the reason for the mindless shading of innocent human blood on the soil of Igboland by blood-thirsty gunmen, who seem irreversibly poised to continue to unleash mayhem on the land to quench their unsolicited militancy and combatant posture to make the South-East look insecure and unsafe for its people, residents, visitors and thoroughfarers.
Abia has a reputation of being peaceful for both the natives and non-natives. It has no history of violence, hence commercial and industrial endeavours have continued to thrive without end.
This is why violence is highly abhored and, as is commonly said, violence does no one any good. For instance, since the unfortunate incident happened, most residents of Ekenobizi have fled their homes for fear of the mass arrest that ensued, while the Onuimo Market has remained shut, crippling the economy of the area.
The perpetrators of the dastardly act should know that the peace-loving people of the South-East are unanimous in opposing and repudiating violent approach in the agitation for the realisation of Biafra.
Not a few persons have expressed deep concern over the persistent killings in the region, which have been linked to the continued incarceration of the Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
It is widely alleged that ESN was largely behind the senseless and unjustifiable blood-letting. And the question on the lips of many prominent, well-meaning Igbo personalities with huge sympathy for Kanu and his non-violence approach to the realisation of the Republic of Biafra is: can the release of Kanu and actualisation of Biafra be realised by virtue of these reckless and bestial killings of innocent people? The answer is an emphatic no!
Let us pause for a while at this juncture and reflect on the wise counsel by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Benjamin Kalu, concerning the wanton killing of innocent people in the region as a way to reinforce their agitation for the immediate release of Mazi Kanu by the Federal Government.
The deputy speaker spoke extensively on the violent lilling in the region during an interactive session with newsmen in his country home in Bende on Sunday, January 8, 2024. He was emphatic and down-to-earth in X-raying the impropriety of a violent and militant approach to the demand for Kanu’s freedom.
He was truly genuine in his recommendations on how best the region could approach its demand, which is through peaceful negotiations rather than the futile attempt to armtwist the Federal Government.
He said: “To get Kanu released is not how much you talk about it in the pages of the newspapers or television, it needs strategic thinking and strategic steps to get it done.
“Many thought that by armtwisting the Federal Government through sit-at-home every Monday, through violence and destruction that the Federal Government can immediately release Kanu.
“Noo! You can never armtwist the Federal Government. You can dialogue,” he said.
He said that the threat to burn down the region, if the Federal Government refused to bulge to threats of violence, was equal to self-destruction.
“The houses you are shooting are in the South-East.
“When you say, if you don’t release Kanu, the people will sit at home and not go to work, people are going to work in Lagos, Kano, Sokoto and other parts of the country.
“So, who are you shooting? It’s like a man shooting his own leg and taking accolade for it, and this is the greatest level of folly,” he said.
The deputy speaker also said it would amount to daring the Federal Government to say “it’s fire-for-fire, violence for violence”.
“So, critically thinking, the best approach is to reduce the violence in the region and create a platform for negotiation to show appreciation that President Bola Tinubu did not contribute anything to the incarceration of our brother,” he said.
He emphasised that what the South-East should do in the present circumstance was to join his advocacy for peace, through the Peace in the South-East Project.
“So, I urge the South-East to cool temper. South-East coolu, coolu, coolu temper.
“When you cool your temper, then the father of the nation would say, yes, they are ready to talk now,” Kalu said.
He said that no president would ever yield to coersion and stampede.
He, therefore, admonished the gunmen fomenting violence in the region to surrender their arms to the security agencies.
He said: “Sit-at-home is an affront to the Federal Government.
“You cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time.
“You cannot be fighting government and at the same time saying give me Nnamdi Kanu. It doesn’t work.
“Once you lay down your arms and there is peace, then you come to the roundtable and ask how do we move forward and one of which is Nnamdi Kanu.
“You should go to the negotiation table peacefully and let the government give you what you are asking for peacefully.
“To do otherwise is to armtwist the Federal Government and it would not work.”
Gov. Alex Otti, who has also been in the forefront of a strategic approach to get Kanu released, alongside his other brother-governors in the region, also shares similar opinion and belief that the best means to get Kanu out of the dungeon was by a non-violence and non-kinetic approach.
He told newemen in a media parley at the Government House, Umuahia that the South-East Governors’ Forum was working quietly behind the scene to achieve result.
Meanwhile, in a reaction to the dastardly killing of the soldiers at Umuopara, a distraught and mournful Gov. Alex Otti, who was again unsettled by the bizarre and merciless act, has expectedly issued a statement condemning the attack.
He deeply poured out his heart in a condolence message, dated November 14, entitled “Letter of Commiseration”, and addressed to the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Olufemi Oluyede.
In the letter, which he personally signed, he stated: “It is with a deep sense of Ioss that I write to commiserate with you over the unfortunate and barbaric killing of three soldiers by yet-to-be-identified assailants at the boundary town of Umuopara, in Umuahia South LGA of my state.
“Indeed, this unwarranted and mindless attack targeted at our gallant soldiers, who have remained steadfast in ensuring the security of lives and property of Abia State, is highly condemnable.
“Please, extend my sincere condolences to the GOC 82 Division, Enugu. The Commander, 14 Brigade, Ohafia and the Commanding Officer, 145 Battalion, Umuahia, where the men were drawn from.
“Please, also extend my deep condolences to the immediate families of the gallant soldies, who paid the supreme price as well as those who were injured during the attack.
“You may recall that on May 30, a similar event happened at the Obikabia Junction near Aba. Together with your men and other security agencies, we started a manhunt for the criminals and, luckily, the masterminds have since been apprehended.”
The governor assured the military authorities and bereaved families that the State Government “will not rest until the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended and dealt with, accordingly.
“My administration is poised to join hands with the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to carry out a thorough investigation with a view to unmasking those behind the attack,” he further stated.
The Abia chief executive prayed that God Almighty grants the souls of the fallen soldiers eternal rest as well as the fortitude to those they left behind to bear their loss.
As is traditional with the governor in similar horrendous situations in the past, he has promised to make the necessary contact with the immediate families of all the late soldiers in due course, “with a view to supporting them as they mourn their loved ones”.
It is expected that the governor’s soothing condolences would go a long way to calm frayed nerves within the military authorities and encourage open-minded discussions and negotiations on how best to foster a formidable synergy in dealing with the onerous task of umasking the perpetrators of the barbaric killings.
Furthermore, his promise to visit the relations of the deceased will help to assuage their pains and sorrows. He will no doubt make pronouncements, as usual, during the visit that would help to restore hope to the immediate families of the dead, particularly the widows, children, and other dependants, who would naturally be writhing in emotional and psychological agony at the moment, devastated by the thought that all their hopes for living have suddenly crashed.
It is also the prayer and hope of all good-spirited Abia citizens and non citizens alike that all good hands should be on deck to permanently end the attacks on innocent security operatives in the region before they escalate to an unimaginable and alarming proportion too difficult to tackle.
The big lesson from the attack is the need for the security agencies in the state, nay South-East, to overhaul their intelligence gathering techniques and become rather proactive than reactive.
It is a wake up call for all the security heads and formations to take steps to re-orientate their rank and file in order for them to have a change of attitude to their job. It is usually disdainful and worrisome seeing the lousy disposition of most of the operatives at checkpoints, where they, more often than not, appear more preoccupied with collecting money from commercial vehicle operators and other motorists than keeping strict security surveillance for their own safety and that of others.
It is high time the heads of all the
security agencies organised a security summit in the state to review their strategies in order to up their game and ensure greater security for lives and property.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the Gov. Otti-led government has provided sufficient financial and moral support to all the security agencies to enable them to discharge their constitutional responsibility diligently and effectively without any financial impediments.
To buttress the robust and enormous support enjoyed by security agencies under the present administration would require a casual visit to the headquarters of the State Police Command on Bende Road, Umuahia, where massive and unprecedented reconstruction of the building has been going on for many months running, courtesy of the governor.
The former Police Commissioner, Kenechukwu Onwuemelie (now Assistant Inspector General of Police), could not hide his joy and satisfaction over the immense financial assistance received from the government by the command under his watch.
He paid special tribute to the governor for his unrivalled support to the command, especially investing heavily in the comprehensive reconstruction of the office building.
Of course, the thorough renovation and equipping of the commissioner’s office complex with modern facilities are aimed at providing a conducive work environment that would spur the officers and men of the command to give their best toward the protection of lives and property of residents.
It is on this score that they are, therefore, encouraged to reciprocate the governor’s relentless magnanimity and kind gesture by being up and running, focused, diligent and intentional in the task of securing Abia and its good people.
And may the experience of
the black Wednesday be the last of such in God’s Own State.
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from Umuahia