Owerri Under Siege; 0ver 2000 Prisoners Freed; Criminals On The Loose; Fear Reigns |The Source

By Adesina Soyooye

Owerri, the capital of Imo State is in chaos. It is under siege. Fear reigns.

In a most brazen, unprecedented, attack, hoodlums invaded the Owerri Correctional Centre, and freed over 2,000 inmates. They also proceeded to the nearby Imo Police Command Headquarters, freed a number of detainees, and set offices and a number of vehicles parked there ablaze.

Both the Correctional Centre and Police Command HQs are uncomfortably  close to the Government House, Owerri.

“It is the most audacious attack ever”, a shaken eye witness told this magazine.

Another said: “As I watched from my hotel window, guns boomed, right before my eyes. And dynamites were used to blow up things. It was like war.”

The attack was well planned and clinically executed, sources in Owerri said, lamenting the absence of any challenge against the hoodlums. “There were no policemen or soldiers anywhere to challenge them. Where were the over 4,000 Police personnel the Commissioner of Police said he deployed to keep the State safe during Easter?”

For about  180 minutes, beginning from around 1.30 am to 3.00am, the hoodlums  were in full command. Armed with intimidating weapons and dynamites, they converged at a roundabout in town, singing, shooting, and getting generally high. It is thought that they took advantage of the surprisingly lax security in the State capital during the Easter.

From where they converged, they drove to the nearby Correction Centre, allegedly wearing security outfits of different Security Agencies in the country. That gave them easy access into the Correction Centre. As soon as they drove in, hell was let loose. How they were able to converge in such large numbers without detection, is baffling, said an Owerri resident.

Heavy shootings, accompanied by dynamites announced their arrival. They proceeded to setting the inmates free, telling them that like Jesus Christ, they have been set free. A Priest who pleaded anonymity described the use of the name of Christ, and His Rise from the dead by the hoodlums as blasphemous.

From the Correction Centre, they proceeded to the Police Command Headquarters, committed the same havoc, and set offices and vehicles ablaze.

In one of the recorded videos, escaping prisoners were heard jubiliating: “We are free. Freedom. They say Biafra has come.”

The question is whodunnit?

A lot of speculations are on. But some people allege it is the handiwork of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, and its security arm, the Eastern Security Network, ESN. They allege they are the only groups who can be this audacious, and insist they could have done it to free their detained members.

The IPOB/ESN, have had a running battle in recent weeks in Imo. A number of their inmates were arrested, detained, and awaiting prosecution.

But not a few people say it is a ploy to give a dog a bad name in order to kill it. “IPOB/ESN had nothing to do with this. The Government should look elsewhere”, a shocked young man told us.

For now, the watchword in Imo State is: vigilance. With the number of prisoners and detainees on the loose, insecurity definitely reigns.

Full details by the Police and other Security agencies are awaited.