3 YEARS AFTER 25th April 2021
The IPOB formed ESN in December 2020 with the objective of securing lives and properties of the people from the south eastern part of Nigeria as lives matters no more to the invaders such as the Boko haram, the ISWAP and the Fulani herders.
As our men and women were butchered on daily basis in our farms by these invaders such like Fulani herdsmen who wonder about in the farms with AK47 to feed their cattle, peradventure anyone left in the farm must be left dead, butchered, the women are raped before their husbands, children are raped before their parents and in such cases none comes back alive.
The Fulani herdsmen feed their cows with crops and every farm produce our fathers and mothers have labored for through the season, houses are burnt down, men and women are being kidnapped all day long and the government didn’t see anything wrong in the atrocities been carried out against the South Easterners.
These ill human treatments gave birth to ESN by IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Onyendu Nnamdi Kanu.
On the 24th day of April 2021, six staunch members of the ESN were targeted for elimination from the first commander in the person of Nwokike Anyinayo Andy, popularly known as Ikonso was murdered in his house in the presence of his wife and children as he returned from the bush on Saturday night to take some rest.
The onslaught took away the lives of another four of the ESN members except Mr. Chimdi Ndu, the second in command who escaped through an escape route, when his house was set ablaze, the Army surrounded the house expecting him to emerge from within but he had his way.
Mr. Chimdi Ndu, Second in Command ESN 25th April 2021POLITIcs
Nigerian military reshuffle belies security concerns
As Nigeria battles a domestic insurgency and wilting trust in its armed forces, President Buhari’s overhaul has exposed exasperation with the military’s ineffectiveness to guarantee security for the country.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced four of the country’s top military heads following months of pressure over the nation’s worsening security crisis.
Buhari, who took office in 2015 with a pledge to stamp out the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, had long ignored advice to dismiss the commanders of Nigeria’s army, navy and air force, as well as the chief of defense staff. He announced their resignation and replacements on Twitter on a fateful Tuesday.
A recent spate of skirmishes in south-eastern Nigeria between the army and the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra group (IPOB) has further deepened Nigeria’s security woes.
Coupled with Boko Haram’s continued presence in the north and a spike in armed banditry, swathes of Nigeria remain near-ungovernable.
“Nigeria is probably more insecure than it’s been in recent history,” Ryan Cummings, the director of analysis for the Africa-focused risk management consultancy Signal Risk, told DW.
New chiefs face ‘high expectations’
The reshuffle saw Major General Lucky Eluonye OnyenucheaIrabor become Chief of Defense Staff and Ibrahim Attahiru become Chief of the Army. The air force and navy now have new leaders in Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao and Rear Admiral A.Z. Gambo, respectively.
Presidential spokesman Malam Garba Shehu said the reshuffle was “routine” and endorsed the new leaders.
“None have them have served less than 30 years in the armed forces,” he told DW. “I think they are well-equipped to carry out the task at hand as long as the government gives them support.”
General Ibrahim Attahiru has been appointed chief of the Nigerian ArmyImage: DW/Katrin Gänsler
Kole Shettima from the Center for Democracy and Development told DW the new chiefs will be facing “high expectations, especially given that three of the four were at one point deployed to the north-east.”
Shettima believes coordination and personal understanding between the new leaders would be a big factor in their potential success.
“I think everyone probably knew the previous service chiefs were not even on talking terms and that undermined their ability to prosecute the war against the insurgency,” he says.
For Cummings, the reshuffle is a sign of Buhari’s “exasperation and toughness.”
“The buck has been passed on to the four figures that have been removed from their respective offices rather than the president himself,” he says.
Cummings adds that many of Nigeria’s security threats are “rooted in systemic issues,” such as resource challenges.
“This is not an issue where a simple change in military leadership all of a sudden addresses both symptoms and causes of insecurity in the country,” he explains.
President Buhari reshuffled his defense chiefs, but securing lasting stability across Nigeria is proving elusiveImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Marte
Fighting ongoing in southern Nigeria
Developments in south-eastern Nigeria have taken a violent turn this week, with clashes between members of IPOB’s newly formed armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, and the Nigerian military.
There are reports of deaths on both sides. The origin of the flare-up is disputed, but correspondents say the Nigerian army retaliated after IPOB members allegedly killed soldiers.
In the town of Orlu near the Imo state capital Owerri, eyewitnesses said there was sporadic shooting, with residents taking cover to avoid stray bullets. The Imo state government has since imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in affected areas.
Resident Nawwal Yusuf placed the blame on IPOB “agitators.”
“They attacked the northerners and killed four of them,” he told DW. “We discovered four dead bodies. They have already been buried.”
Peter Uche, a member of IPOB, told DW the separatist group had been repeatedly harassed by the government since starting a security outfit in their region.
“The soldiers and this government have been kicking against the IPOB members,” he said. “I am not happy about it. Other regions in this country have their own security outfit. But we have been fighting, they have been fighting us, trying to eliminate us.”
The Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970 came after the secession of BiafraImage: AFP/Getty Images
Separatist movement remains active
Historically, south-eastern Nigeria has been a hotbed for Biafran separatist agitation.
The Nigerian Civil War, which lasted from 1967 to 1970, pitted southern separatists — who wanted to form the independent nation of Biafra — against the Nigerian government.
There are also religious divisions between predominantly Muslim northerners and southerners, who are largely Christian.
Currently, numerous splinter groups in south-eastern Nigeria are loosely united, demanding the right to form their own state. IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is in exile.
The region is one of Nigeria’s richest in terms of mineral resources, specifically oil. But with oil prices currently low, the Nigerian government is struggling to finance its budget.
“You have a population and Igbo population that feels somewhat disconnected from Nigeria’s federal government structures,” says Cummings. “They feel that President Buhari does not specifically represent their interests.”
But despite the increasingly loud calls from the IPOB for the formation of the state of Biafra, Cummings adds that, despite dissatisfaction with the Nigerian government, wider polls show there is “not much resonance” for separatism in the region
WANTED
BY IMO State and Nigerian Government
MR CHIMDI NDU ‘M’
Second in Command to Nwokike Anyinayo Andy A.K.A Ikonso
WANTED BY THE IMO STATE GOVERNMENT AND THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE, IMO STATE COMMAND, IMO STATE NIGERIA.
The above named person is hereby declared wanted by the Imo State Government and the Nigeria Police Force. A warrant of arrest has been duly obtained from a Magistrate Court in Imo State against his person.
Mr. Chimdi Ndu is declared wanted after a fierce battle with the joint Nigerian Security Forces where Nwokike Anyinayo Andy popularly known as Ikonso, the then ESN commander and other staunch members were killed. This offence he allegedly committed in the course of his separatist campaigns in Imo State, Nigeria.
He is an Igbo tribe, aged 48 years, His features include: Nose: Broad; Mouth: Large; Teeth: Good; Height: 1.80m; Face: Round; Lips: Thick; Eye: Brown; Chin: Round; Complexion: Fair; Hair: Bald; Head: Large; Fore head: High; Facial face and visible sign: Nil;
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON PLEASE CONTACT IMO STATE GOVERNMENT HOUSE OR ANY NEAREST POLICE STATION.