Imo: Finally, Police Unmask Unknown Gunmen; Suspect Sings Like A Bird – Source

By Charles Igbo

There is a spark of light in the dark tunnel of the fight against the frightening insecurity in the State.

Finally, the Inspector General of Police’s crack team, the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, seems to have gradually removed the mask from the faces of the “unknown gunmen” who have visited the South-East Zone, especially, Imo State, with unprecedented violence which resulted in a harvest of deaths and destruction of both Government and private properties.

Until now, speculations had been rife over who really are the UGM. Are they from the South-east? If so, why are they visiting so much violence on their own people?

A number of people insisted they were the Security Wing of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Eastern Security Network, ESN.The Nigeria Police believe so.

But the question has been: Why would IPOB destroy the South-east, a Zone, and a people it says it set out to liberate and protect?

IPOB had set-up ESN because, according to it, rogue Fulani Herdsmen had taken over the South-east, especially the farmlands, killing,maiming, raping, and destroying farmlands and everything on it.

However, a number of people insist that insecurity has worsened in the Zone since ESN. And they ask: If, indeed, the ESN was founded to protect the Zone, where are the rogue Herdsmen they are fighting? Why are they not arresting them? Why are the people of the Zone targets in their own Zone? Why are people’s private properties being torched?

But the IPOB/ESN consistently deny responsibility for the violence. They say it is the handiwork of those imported to destabilise the Zone so as to give IPOB a bad name. And people ask again, why then is the ESN not arresting them?

Both the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the State House of Assembly, on their own, insist that the insecurity in the State is politically motivated. They point, for instance, at the torching of the Governor’s Country home, and recently, that of the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba. They say a couple of members of the main opposition party, and some disgruntled elements in the APC were responsible for the situation. They say a couple of them had sworn to  make the state ungovernable for the Governor.

But the Police are adamant in their belief that “It is the ESN at work.” Proof:

They point at the killings of Security Personnels, the torching of Police facilities and Correctional Centres and the consequent release of prisoners and detainees.

They also quote audio and video materials of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, ordering his people to kill Security Personnel and torch their facilities.

However, whatever, the mask is, gradually, being taken off. It started with the gruesome murder of APC chieftain and former Presidential Aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan in Imo on May 30, 2021. Gulak was on his way back to Abuja from Imo when he was murdered close to Imo Airport.

The Police identified those who killed him as ESN operatives. They said they had killed them, and their vehicles burnt down. Both the driver of the Cab which Gulak took, and Gulak’s friend, Mr Bernard, confirmed they recognised the killers. There were doubts as to the identities of the killers. But two arrests made recently by the police, especially, that of Sunday, June 6, 2021, seem to be pointing to the identities of the UGM.

The first was one of those who attacked both the Imo Police Command Headquarters and  the Federal Correctional Centre, Owerri on Easter Monday, in April 2021. He admitted to be an ESN personnel.

The second was when the UGM tried, again, in the morning of Sunday, June 6, to attack the Imo Police Command Headquarters.

Sources say they were on a rescue mission of some of their members, arrested by the Police, and who, they suspect could squeal on their operations under pressure.

They were repelled in a bloody shoot-out with Security Personnel made up of the Military and the Police.  Six of them were gunned-down, the most prominent, the leader of the group, Joseph Uka Nnachi, aka, Dragon. But the icing on the cake was the capture of a member of the UGM.

A native of Mbieri, Mbaitoli LGA, he gave his name as Stanley Osinachi. He said he was recruited as a member of the ESN by Dragon. He said their camp is located at Akabo, a Community in Ikeduru LGA. He identified their overall boss as Nnamdi  Kanu, and revealed that the instruction to them, from Kanu, through Dragon, was to kill Security Personnels, and torch Police facilities.

He also disclosed that they kidnapped a Female Police officer for the purpose of giving them information.

On Tuesday, the IRT, led by Kyari, took him, and stormed the Akabo camp. True to what he told the Police, the Female Police Officer was in their custody. She was, promptly, rescued and the ESN camp set on fire.

Police sources said Osinachi has been singing like a bird. The strong belief is that from his “songs”, the veil will finally be lifted off the faces and sponsors of the UMG.

On the day of his arrest, when his colleagues were killed, the Police recovered their operational vehicles as well as the following:

• FOUR AK 47 RIFLES STOLEN FROM POLICE WERE RECOVERED
• QUANTITY 2, 000 AMMUNITION RECOVERED

Four AK 47 Rifles with 2000 rounds of live ammunition and large number of  explosives were recovered from the scene.

1. Assualt (AR) Rifle Breach N0: 03018058
2. Assualt (AR) Rifle Breach N0: 070007055

III. Assualt (AR) RIFLE Breach N0: 5801297

1. Six locally fabricated Explosive Devices
2. Police Beret Cap
3. 7 AK47 Magazines fully loaded

VII. 1 military cap

VIII. 1 military cardigan (Polo)

1. 1 Silver Coloured Mini Bus with Reg N0: WAM-8673 B ABD
2. I Hummer Bus with Reg N0: KED-382 X Ladden with Explosive Devices.

The Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, CP Abutu Yaro, called on all those in possession of weapons stolen from Security Agencies to return them to the nearest Police Station or Military Installation not later than 12th  June 2021, to prevent the long arms of the law catching up with them.