Residents of Enugu Ezike in the Igbo Eze North local government area of Enugu State are lamenting the activities of troops of the Nigerian Army, saying they have turned the community into an extortion haven. In May, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi imposed a 6 pm to 6 am curfew on two local government areas, even though soldiers were only deployed to Igbo Eze North as the people of Igbo Eze South Local Government have been going about their normal business. There had been complaints about extortion and arbitrary torture of the indigenous people of Enugu Ezike, as soldiers beat up and collect bribes ranging from N15, 000 to N20,000 from commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders) caught after 6 pm in the evening, while motorists pay more to regain their freedom. Easterner on Sunday reported soldiers killed a 62-year-old electrician while trying to shoot at a vehicle which allegedly violated the 6 pm to 6 am curfew imposed on Igbo Eze North and South local government areas of the state two months ago. The electrician, Joseph Ugwu, from Igogoro, Enugu Ezike, was killed at about 8 pm on Saturday, by soldiers who were allegedly pursuing a motorist.
Last week, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, and President General of Imufu Town Union, Lawrence Mamah, was invited to the office of the Commander of the soldiers drafted to Igboeze North from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, where he was beaten to a pulp for not “writing names of alleged members of IPOB and ESN and giving to the soldiers so that they would go and finish them.” Mamah’s case was not isolated except that it caught the attention of the media. Passersby who cross the Nsukka-Ogrute-Aji- Ogugu – Lokoja Road, where the soldiers are camped at Shagari Low-Cost Housing share stories of torture including flogging with horsewhips as well as being forced to undertake other dehumanising manual labour. A victim of the torture, Emmanuel Adoni, who spoke with Easterner said he was riding a motorcycle through Aji to Ogrute when the soldiers stopped him.
“One of the soldiers accused me of being an IPOB. He beat me with a horsewhip and as I was shouting and trying to know what I had done. Others joined in the beating and kicking me with the boots. They later searched me, collected the N5,500 I had with me and asked me to leave the scene immediately. They later brought out N500 and threw it at me and I collected the N500 leaving N5,000 with them. I was later informed that they usually collected everything their victims had.
“The issue is that the posting of soldiers to Enugu Ezike is politically motivated. It is geared towards the 2023 general elections, where those in authority want to cow the people to have their way.
“The burning of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) office in Igbo Eze North was supervised from Enugu. For example, a few days after burning the INEC office, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi visited the place for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage. At the time of Ugwuanyi’s visit, the over 700,000 PVCs which had not been collected were kept in another office within the Local Government and therefore, not among the materials burnt.
“But two days after his visit, the office whereby the PVCs were stored was broken open and the PVCs carted away. Does this not show you that somebody is behind the mask? What is happening in Igbo Eze North is not IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) or ESN (Eastern Security Network) -induced insecurity. Some people are stoking the fire.”
Another victim, Chinedu Nweze, who was extorted N20,000 for passing the checkpoint 10 minutes after 6 pm, lamented that the conduct of the soldiers was criminal and no different from what the Boko Haram and other Islamic terrorists were doing in the North and Middle Belt. Nweze, a lecturer in one of the universities in the state, said Nigerian soldiers deployed in the South East are now hiding under the pretences of fighting members of separatist groups especially members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“The question is when have one being a member of IPOB, for instance, a death sentence? Why must every Igbo young man be labelled IPOB/ESN member to justify dehumanization treatment going on in the South East?
“He alleged that it was the unjustified killing of innocent Igbo youths by security agencies that fueled the activities of unknown gunmen in the South East.”
He, however, called for a thorough investigation of the matter because, according to him, the deployment of soldiers to Enugu-Ezike is about Udenu which is a minority local government with 10 wards.
“Within the local governments, Nsukka, Igbo Etiti, Igbo Eze North have 20 wards each while Uzo Uwani and Igbo Eze South have about 16 wards each. It is the process of riding roughshod over other local governments that these brutalities are festering,” he alleged.
A community leader, James Eze, who spoke with Easterner said that soldiers move around the villages every night, trying to enforce the curfew imposed on Igboeze North and South local government areas.
He said that the people of Igboeze North believe that purported insecurity, used as cover for the curfew was aimed at destroying the people politically and economically. The main issue in contention is the 2023 governorship election, he noted.
“The governor imposed Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party on the state. He also gave the deputy governor’s position to his local government, Udenu, which has 10 wards only and further awarded the Senate position to himself. The implication is that Udenu with 10 wards will produce the two positions which are available to the whole Enugu North Senatorial District, made up of Igbo Eze North (20 wards); Nsukka (20) wards; Igboetiti (20) wards; Uzo Uwani and Igbo Eze South local government areas with about 32 wards altogether.
“The five other local government areas altogether have 92 wards but a local government with 10 wards which produced the outgoing governor wants to corner the two positions by crook.
“Enugu State government knows what is going on and the security agencies should take a critical look at the situation. Last week, the soldiers nearly killed a retired police officer and President General of Imufu community in cold blood,” Eze stated.
