For many years, south-east Nigeria was considered the safest geopolitical zone in the country. The five states — Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo — that form the zone had recorded the least spate of violent attacks in comparison with other parts of the country.
For instance, in its 2019 report, Nigeria Mourns said the south-east recorded the least number of reported killings with 94 deaths, while the south-west recorded 157 deaths, followed by south-south with 341 deaths. North-central recorded 469 deaths and the north-east had 1009 while north-west had the highest with 1,118 deaths.
However, with renewed secessionist agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which have turned radical and violent, as well as the government’s countermeasures, security in the region has deteriorated.
Amid growing concerns about the violence and kidnappings associated with bandits and rogue herders, IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is now facing criminal charges, said the group needed to protect the south-east and launched a security outfit named the Eastern Security Network (ESN) on December 13, 2020.
