Nigeria is fast becoming a dangerous place to live in. This is the result of swirling insecurity in virtually all parts of the country.
For more than 10 years now, the Boko Haram insurgency has soaked Nigeria in the blood of innocent citizens. This was largely restricted to the northeast.
Another angle was added to this with the gradual exportation of the mayhem to other sections in the North-central and the South in the guise of killer herdsmen who take over people’s farmlands by force and feed farmers’ crops to their cattle. The unrestrained herdsmen committed all manner of atrocities, including rape, murder and wanton destruction of lives and property with uncommon bravado, as no real attempts were made to rein them in.
With the emergence of bandits and kidnappers, who derive joy in kidnapping people for ransom and relish the scent of blood, one thought Nigeria had seen it all.
Unfortunately, things are degenerating every day. Now a new wave of violent crimes has overrun the South-east and some parts of South-south where hoodlums have developed a huge appetite for attacking police formations across the regions.
In the past three months, many police stations have come under heavy attack, leaving many policemen dead.
Many police stations have been razed down and their armoury raided and detainees set free. Almost all the five states of the South-east have experienced one form of this brigandage or another.
As recently as Monday, the zonal police headquarters in Ukpor in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State was attacked by unknown gunmen. Though the attackers were successfully repelled by policemen on duty hence forestalling loss of police equipment or firearms, they succeeded in burning down buildings, vehicles, and motorcycles in the premises.
The worst hit by activities of the faceless hoodlums is Imo State, which has witnessed five such attacks on police formations including the state police headquarters in Owerri, the state capital. Also attacked were Ehime Mbano, Obowo, Aboh Mbaise Divisional Police headquarters as well as Mbieri Divisional Police Headquarters in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.
Two police stations were also attacked recently in Abia State by some unidentified gunmen, leading to the death of some officers. Similarly, two police officers were killed in two separate incidents in Anambra State when some gunmen attacked a police patrol team at a checkpoint in the state.
The government has not done enough to unravel the brain behind these attacks and stem the drift. The immediate past Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Mohammed, had hastily fingered the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, a group agitating for self-determination for Ndigbo as being responsible for the attacks in Owerri. This conclusion reached barely hours after the attack without any investigation whatsoever, was frowned at by many. Many saw it as part of what is fueling the IPOB agitation, as it lent credence to the group’s allegations of hatred and bias against them. The group denied their involvement in the attacks.
There are allegations too that the attacks were carried out by northerners ferried to the state to cause trouble and prepare grounds for a clampdown on the Igbo. Those who hold this view pointed to the military action in Orlu not too long ago. It is baffling that the attackers operated for hours without being engaged by security operatives in the state.
The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma added another angle to this when he alleged that former governor, Rochas Okorocha was behind the attacks. Of course, Okorocha also denied the allegation.
However, beyond rhetoric and wild, hasty accusations, the government needs to brace up to the challenge that some kind of terrorism is brewing in the South-east. It has to deploy intelligence to nip this in the bud before it escalates.
The country is on edge because of the simmering anger in virtually every section of the country. The economy is in bad shape and more Nigerians now live below the poverty line and any small spark can lead to a conflagration in the entire country.
Already, several self-determination groups are springing up. Nigeria has never been this divided and the citizens hopeless and agitated. We call on the leadership of the country to urgently pull the country back from the brink.
