For some months now, imo state Nigeria has been a hot bed of conflicts between the Nigerian Military and some heavily armed militants who are identified as Eastern Security Network (ESN)
The Scope News had published about an encounter between thee armed two, in which the government force had come out shorts. In reaction, the military which has one of its military bases in a place called Obilinze in the same state, regrouped and re enforced and invaded that area where they had encountered the militants. According to the inhabitants of thatzone of the state, a reign of terror was unleashed by the soldiers on the communities there. That this area is the home geographical zone of the reigning governor did not matter. In fact the governor had come out openly and announced that it was he that called in the soldiers. There were fatalities. Colleteral victims.
The latest development in these conflictual shenanegans is that gunmen had on Monday morning attacked the correctional facility and police investigations department in Owerri, Imo State, setting them on fire and releasing over 1800 inmates.
The attackers, who operated between 1am and 3am also attacked a military base at Ukwuorji on the Owerri-Onitsha expressway, burnt a soldier in a car and razed four military operational vehicles.
The twist in the tale is that this particular attack was not by them and does not conform to their modus operandi. this is because in the easternstates of Nigeria, there has been a recent outburst of killings, targetting uniformed security officials whicch include the police and soldiers. It was blame on some ambigious criminal elements in the zone whom the media has graciously nomenclatured unknown Gunmen.
The IPOB had denied these ones and also being responsible for the attack on the police HQ and Correctional facility in Owerri, the Imo state capital city.
However, the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police had made a public announcement that it was the IPOB and its Security arm, The ESN that was responsible for that mayhem.
A video recording has gone viral since the beginning of the week of supposed members of the ESN parading the streets of Owerri, fully armed and relaesing gunshots in the air, openly spoiling for a fight. They were unchallenged.
Now the military has countrered these effronteries by their own show of strenth, by flooding the city with combat ready secutity officers. The show of force, according to military sources, is intended to boost the morale of security agents and to restore the confidence of the people in the security agents.
“The operation show of force is a military exercise targeted at restoring the confidence of the people in the security agencies,” a source told PUNCH.
“It is also a way of raising the morale of the operatives after the Monday’s deadly attacks. It is a reassurance that the security agents have the capacity and capability to enforce public order and decorum.”
A huge presence of military men was spotted along Orlu-Owerri Road, Owerri-Onitsha expressway and Owerri-Okigwe Road.
Also, the high presence of military men also patrolled the metropolis as fear continued to pervade the atmosphere
