It will be noted that for more than fifty years now, the people of the greater eastern Nigeria of Nigeria have expressing their misgiving about the ways and manners the governments of Nigeria have been treating citizens of that part of the country.
This continued sidelining which has been described in several words including marginalization has eventually reached a point in which certain groups which are a fallout of the militancy of which the peoples of the Eastern Nigeria declared their secession from the body of Nigeria in 1967, and declared a nation of their own called Biafra has now become a full fledged resistant group, under the brand of IPOB, Independent People of Biafra led by a very outspoken young lawyer called Nnamdi Kalu.
This situation brings to mind the expression that when a simple protest is driven underground, it will inadvertently one day reappear as a full blown revolution.
This overtime treatment of the points of protest by these organizations with levity and near ignominy has resulted in clashes between the members and the military operatives of Nigeria. some of these encounters have caused collateral damages in which civilians have suffered mortality. An example being a recent one in which it is said that the military suffered heavy casualties.
The result is that the military brandishing all its amory was unleashed on some hapless villagers by the governor of the state, and terror and shooting reigned on this rural area of Imo state of Nigeria. The result is five deaths including an old woman who it is did was shot by a soldier.
The report has it that Mr Hope Uzodinma, the Governor of Imo state State Nigeria, breathing fire and threatening brime stone on his own people has declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew in all the local councils in the Orlu area of the state.
At least five residents of Okporo, a town in Orlu zone have been reportedly shot dead by officers of the Nigerian Army following a clash between the security agency and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) security outfit, Eastern Security Network (ESN).
The community was said to be the operational base of the ESN.
The clash between the two groups led to sporadic gunshots, as residents scampered for safety.
Five persons, including a middle-aged woman, were said to have been killed by stray bullets from guns of the Nigerian Army while some properties were burnt. See Also Soldiers Invade IPOB Eastern Security Network’s Operational Base, Kill Five, Burn Church, Others 17 Comments 1 Hour Ago
In a statement released after an emergency security council meeting of the state executive council on Monday, Governor Uzodinma said “those behind this callous barbarism will surely regret their actions”.
The statement read, “This afternoon, I received a very disturbing report on the activities of a group of militants who unleashed a shooting spree in the Orlu area of the state, killing and maiming innocent citizens in the process.
“I am totally appalled by this sad report which appears to paint a picture of a near breakdown of law and order in the Orlu area. The government condemns in its entirety this act of extreme hooliganism and brigandage. This is completely unacceptable to this administration. Those behind this callous barbarism will surely regret their actions.
“Consequently, I have directed the security agencies to fish out without fail, all those behind the carnage and immediately bring them to book. Let no one be in any doubt that the perpetrators of this dastardly act will ever escape justice. I assure them that they will pay for their cruelty against a peace-loving, innocent people.
“As an interim measure to immediately restore the peace in Orlu zone, a dusk-to-dawn curfew (6 pm to 6 am) is hereby imposed in the following local government areas of Orlu zone, namely Orlu, Orsu, Oru East, Oru West, Ideato North, Ideato South, Njaba, Isu, Nwangele and Nkwerre.
“All law-abiding citizens are advised to comply strictly with the curfew as announced. Anyone caught violating the curfew will be treated as a suspect. The government wants to assure all Imo people that the situation in the Orlu area is under control. Security operatives have been deployed on a 24-hour patrol of the zone. Equally, every security measure necessary has been put in place to ensure that law-abiding citizens can go about their businesses in the affected areas without any fear of molestation.
“The government sincerely condoles with the families of the bereaved and all the victims of the unfortunate incident. I assure them that those who committed the heinous crime against them and their loved ones will never go unfurnished.”
