Owerri Attack: Nigerians Reacts On Twitter, Says Imo Fast Turning To Another Borno

Following the continued attack on the Imo State Police division by unidentified gunmen, some Nigerians have taken to their Twitter handles to lament and express fear that the South-East state is fast becoming another Borno State. 

AllNews had on Monday reported that gunmen suspected to be bandits have attacked the Owerri Correctional Prison in Imo State and freed no fewer than 1500 inmates, adding that the attackers also razed the Imo State Police Command headquarters situated in Owerri and burnt almost all the vehicles parked at the command headquarters. 

The hoodlums further freed the suspects in the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command and made an attempt to loot the police armoury in the state.

But just barely 24 hours after the attacks, gunmen on Tuesday gunmen have again set on fire another police division in Ehime/Mbano, Imo State, along with some vehicles.

The brazen gunmen launched the attack despite the presence of the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, in Owerri. Adamu had visited the state to assess the level of damage done by Monday attacks and to charge the cops to be ruthless before he was sacked.

Prior to this incident, Imo State located in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country has enjoyed relative peace until lately when daring gunmen started wreaking havoc in the state. The gunmen particularly target police formations in their attacks.

The police have since accused members of the Eastern Security Network, the security arm of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, of being the masterminds of the attacks but the secessionist agitators led by Nnamdi Kanu have since denied the allegation.

Between February and March 2021, gunmen have burnt down Obowo, Abo Mbaise, Ihitte/ Uboma and Isiala Mbano Divisional Police Headquarters, killing three cops and injuring others. This is aside from other attacks on innocent citizens.

READ ALSO: Imo Jailbreak: IPOB’s Aim Was To Create Fear - Uzodinma

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the Owerri attacks as acts of terrorism, one which many Nigerians feared was coming up in the South-East.

Recall that Borno State rose to inglorious fame when Mohammed Yusuf, founder of militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was killed in 2009. Yusuf’s death birthed a macabre era of the unprecedented uprising; carnage, bombings, kidnappings, amongst other crimes against humanity, even till date.

READ ALSO: Imo Jailbreak: No Hiding Place For IPOB Members - IGP Adamu

Millions of aboriginal Borno residents have also been displaced by the activities of the insurgents as military forces battle to clear the terrorists out of the entire North-East.

Reacting to the recent attack, some Nigerians have taken to their social media handles to express their fear. 

A tweep, @favouredhero lamented, “This is tending towards anarchy, it keeps on getting worse daily.”

“The rise of IPOB is a photocopy of the rise of Boko Haram, they will have to be curtailed anyway, but this time around it will be very costly…Nigeria remains,” @JackObinyan wrote.

However, with the appointment of a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, as the acting Inspector-General of Police, many Nigerians could only wish for a more secured and safe country.

“Does Nigeria have the capabilities to engage in two blown wars at the same time –one in the North-East and another in the South-East?” asked a Facebook user, Kenneth Ani.

Another Facebook user, Faisal Haruna, wrote, “New Maiduguri is emerging”, while Usman Abubakar corroborated, “That was how Boko Haram started.”

“This was how Boko Haram started. Folks were happy as they attacked police stations until they turned on the people,” Waliu Aro stated.