Imo communities in trouble as terror activities escalate.

Imo State, a bubbling town from the Southeastern geopolitical zone of Nigeria which was created in 1976, has always been on the positive side of the news and has consistently remained peaceful, enjoyable and transformed into a beauty to behold. Some decades ago and precisely under the Babangida military administration, the state’s capital city Owerri emerged as the cleanest state capital in the country. From that time till now, Imo, State has managed to maintain a high level of social decency among its residents.

As time went by, the people living in the “Eastern Heartland” as the state is referred to, faced another form of life as terrorism, kidnapping, disappearances of persons, arson and abductions enveloped the state. Despite the rating of the state as occupying the third position in the nation’s human development index analysis, Imo State has continued to face terrorist activities to the detriment of her residents who are living witnesses of a scenario of a highly advanced insecurity.

Observers believe that the present political phase in Imo which eventually turned criminal and deadly started sometime around 2017 when some Njaba royal fathers were attacked while holding a summit at the Njaba Local Government Council. Some of them sustained serious gunshot injuries while about three others died during the attack. Some confirmed newspaper reports had it that many communities in the state like Orlu Senatorial Zone have witnessed terror attacks more than other zones. As it appears now, the wheel of extreme violence has landed in two local councils mainly, Njaba and Mbaitoli LGAs. In Mbaitoli Local Government Council, a relatively unknown town of Ezioha is reportedly plagued by violence and kidnapping over the past years. Reports claim that the armed Fulani herdsmen and other groups, including suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as well as the Eastern Security Network (ESN), have been accused of being the catalysts behind the mayhem and other terrorist activities.

In Njaba LGA, the town of Umuaka has also been severely affected as locals now live under unimaginable fear of terror attacks and more. A particular report Umuaka Times came across recently confirmed that as at “January 2024, multiple incidents of kidnapping were reported in Owerri West Local Government Area, with 19 incidents recorded between January 1 and February 27, 2024. The victims often pay ransoms, and some have been killed or injured during these attacks.”

Umuaka which is in Orlu zone shares boarders with Owerri zone. Recent newspaper reports also claimed that the Imo State Police Command had in the past made frantic efforts to put an end to the heinous crimes committed both in Orlu and Owerri zones. In pursuance of her determination, the police reportedly ended up arresting more than 2000 suspects who included terrorists, kidnappers and cultists; some media houses reported that the police rescued some kidnapped victims numbering over 50 at certain areas both in Umuaka in Njaba LGA and Mbaitoli LGA. This was perhaps the biggest raid in the state. As if these efforts were nothing to write home about, terrorism has continued to escalate in Njaba LGA especially in Umuaka town. Umuaka Times has it on good authority that royal fathers in the community have fled alongside with their immediate family members. Last December, some celebrations by the people of the community were held in Owerri, the state capital due to the fear of terrorist attacks during such events.

On Sunday July 7, 2024, 4 vigilante group members were gunned down by suspected gunmen in Uba, one of the communities in Umuaka town. From the day of these killings, Umuaka practically became a theatre of terrorism and fear. In several face-offs between state actors and gunmen, the community lost over 11 persons who were victims of stray bullets at different times. In general, about 13 indigenes of the community have also been declared missing by their families and there seems to be no end in sight. Mazi Anayo Aguocha, Mr Kelechi Iwunnakwe, Mr Sam White, Chief Akuwara and about two police constables and some others are seriously believed to have been killed in some terrorist attacks in the community after their respective disappearances.

In a comparative analysis of the whole scenario, Umuaka Times gathered that the youths from Umuaka are perhaps the most hit; on several occasions, many of them had been arrested as being members of the Ingenious People of Biafra IPOB, by the state. Confirmed reports also have it that some (youths) have fled the town while many others are on the wanted list of the government as suspected members of IPOB. Umuaka Times investigations further confirmed last week that a good number of prominent citizens of the community have gone on self-exiles just to stay alive. Some families have so far advised their male children to flee from the community. It may not be clear enough to determine the number of Umuaka boys declared wanted as members of IPOB.

Efforts by some high level stake-holders in the state who sued for peace are yet to manifest into positive results. The state government and her security agencies are said to be fine-tuning the best approach to end the escalating violence in, terrorism and abductions in the state. The government on its part claims that it is putting a lot of energy and resources in motion to bring an end to the terrorism in the state. A couple of weeks ago, some houses in Umuaka town were set ablaze as a result of the terrorist activities in the state. From all indicators, the troubled town of Umuaka may be in dire need of official intervention from the state and other agencies; the community has indeed lost top stake-holders including women and other armless civilians. Some have called for a dialogue between the government and the gunmen while others have called on the state security architecture to clamp down on those especially kidnappers and others in order to set the community free.

Perhaps the latest incident was on Monday August 18, 2025 when some houses suspected to belong to IPOB members in Umuaka were set ablaze by the authorities. Some days later, a London based lady who gave her name as Uchenna Onwenu from Umuaka made a voice note and a video complaining that the one of the houses set ablaze belonged to her and not any other person. She appealed to Imo State government to come to her rescue.

For now, Njaba and Mbaitoli communities have sued for peace and people expect that peace shall return as soon as possible, especially with the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB. Before that happens, those on exile will continue to remain on exile with their fingers crossed.