When democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999, the southeast was a political bride where politicians from all over Nigeria thronged for political activities and support without qualms.
The region was peaceful as well as the people. There were no incidents of violence and where they existed, they were minimal.
But as democracy progressed, things began to change. The consistent attacks by herdsmen on peaceful Igbo communities created fears amongst the erstwhile peaceful communities.
Farmlands were attacked by the herdsmen. Women were being raped on their way to the farms. Communities were being attacked by herdsmen who chased away indigenes to occupy their lands.
This was further compounded by claims of marginalization which brought about the agitation for the republic of Biafra, championed by Ralph Uwazurike, and Nnamdi Kanu amongst others that aimed to protect the region and its people.
Gradually but steadily, the southeast metamorphosed into a ‘war’ zone where all manner of killings, kidnappings, and evil take place.
The government response to the herdsmen issues and the agitating groups was a heavy military presence which became a regular feature in the southeast.
This got worse with subsequent governments.
The situation worsened in the past two years with the Imo jailbreak of April 5, 2021 which turned the region into a ‘theatre of war.’
According to reports, it has been estimated that more than 1,149 people, including the Independent National Electoral Commission employees and security officers, were killed in the three elections held in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
Thugs hired by desperate politicians were often used to perpetrate violence. But the rise of non-state armed groups and the proliferation of weapons in Nigeria have made election security management more complex.
Abductions involving politicians and the electoral commission’s staff and attacks on its offices and sensitive equipment abound.
Many politicians have paid the supreme prize. Many have been kidnapped and slaughtered like animals while many missing persons were yet to be seen.
For instance, more than one year after the Anambra governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the 2021 election, Mr. Obiora Agbasimalo got missing, his whereabouts have remained unknown.
Agbasimalo was kidnapped by gunmen on September 18, 2021, while on a campaign tour to Azhia in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state. He has not been seen or heard from ever since.
In June 2022, gunmen beheaded a former lawmaker in Anambra State.
The victim, Nelson Achukwu, from Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, was first abducted by gunmen who accused him of providing information to military authorities.
He was, however, released after his abductors realized he was not guilty of the allegation.
Achukwu, a physically-challenged person, was again abducted from his house in Mkpor community and beheaded after his family reportedly paid N15 million as ransom to the gunmen.
Last month, gunmen beheaded the sole administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State.
The victim, Christopher Ohizu, was abducted alongside two others when the gunmen attacked him and set his residence ablaze.
Ohizu hailed from Imoko, a community in the council area of the state.
The hoodlums beheaded the victim after his family reportedly paid N6 million as ransom to them.
Sources said the gunmen were attacking those backing the conduct of the 2023 elections in the southeast.
The intensity of attacks in the southeast region increases by the day. The zone which consists of five states – Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra, and Imo has 11.49 million voters out of a population of about 22 million.
In the past two years, INEC offices in the southeast have equally been targeted for violent attacks by armed groups.
There have been over 134 incidents involving INEC offices and staff between 2019 and 2022.
The violent attacks were allegedly orchestrated by non-state armed groups in the zone made up of cult groups, agitators, communal militia, politicians and their thugs, herdsmen, and the notorious”unknown gunmen”.
These groups’ activities seem to increase by the day since the jailbreak of Imo prisons two years ago and the lackluster response of governments.
Security agencies blame the violence on the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and their militant wing, the Eastern Security Network; the Biafra agitators in turn blame security agencies and the government for deliberately engineering the killings and the violence and blaming it on IPOB to justify government tagging of the group as a terrorist group.
Indeed, the spate of senseless killings in the southeast has reached a crescendo. Everything has been blamed for the problem except the herdsmen who started perpetrating the act.
Some of these attacks are perceived to be retaliatory.
According to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data repository, covering general violence, 970 incidents were reported between 2019 and 6 January 2023. An estimated 1,360 were reportedly killed.
Many of the killings probably were not recorded.
Some indigenes however claimed that the agitators, security agencies, the state governments, politicians, and other criminals were involved in the problem.
Ebubeagu which was launched and is being operated in some states in the southeast are perceived as a destructive tool being used by these states against opposition and has been accused of being responsible for certain killings in the states where they operate.
A recent attack on the electoral commission’s headquarters in Owerri Municipality, Imo State was carried out on 12 December 2022. Five people, two of whom were policemen, died.
While the state government blamed desperate politicians in the state for the attack, the Imo State command of the Nigeria Police Force attributed the incident to the Indigenous People of Biafra and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.
Apart from Imo, gunmen have also attacked the commission’s offices in Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Abia at different times.
Gunmen recently beheaded the sole administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State.
The rise, scale, and dimensions of violent attacks on innocent people, security agents, electoral commission personnel, and infrastructure raise additional concerns about the possibility of a free and fair election in the southeast states.
In recent times, the sit-at-home being observed in the southeast is taking a dangerous dimension with the emergence of Simon Ekpa, a self-styled disciple of Nnamdi Kanu who is instigating violence in the region with his new wave of sit-at-home.
A few days ago, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo expressed worry over the forthcoming elections and tasked the South East governors to collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that adequate security is provided in the region for the people to confidently come out to participate actively in the process.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo said the 2023 presidential election is of great importance to the people of South East region and Nigeria in general because of the emergence of the Obi-Datti movement, a paradigm shift that has become an enviable irreversible, irrepressible, and formidable structure in Nigeria.
Therefore, to ensure a successful outing during the elections, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on the South East Governors led by Engr. Dave Umahi, the South East Traditional Rulers led by His Majesty, Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu CFR, the Igbo Clergy, the Christian Association of Nigeria- CAN, the Most Rev. Daniel Chukwudumebi Okoh; the ASETU-Association of South East Town Unions led by Emeka Diwe, Women organizations, the Student bodies, Market Associations, the Igbo vigilantes, amongst others to rise in one voice to condemn and tackle the insecurity in their respective jurisdictions”.
The violence in the region could lead to shortages of electoral officials; logistics could be compromised, and endanger the supply of electoral materials.
Voters could be scared away by violence on election days. Presidential candidates might then struggle to get the votes that the constitution requires and if candidates were unable to meet the constitutional requirements, there might have to be a rerun.
If violence persists during the elections, the electoral prospects of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi who is from the southeast region, would be the worst hit by a very low voter turnout. He has been projected to win Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, according to a poll conducted in December 2022.
It is now the onus of the government and state security forces to curb the violence in the southeast or Obi’s performance at the poll could suffer.
As Ohanaeze puts it, its effort at ensuring the Presidency comes to the South East included sending a delegation of Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by the late Ambassador Professor George Obiozor which met with the British High Commission, Abuja; Chief Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief E K Clarke, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the Northern Leaders, etc, to explain the irrevocable South East position and her predicaments.
But for a successful election to hold in the southeast, there must be peace.
Source: vanguard news
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