The Odimma Orsu Initiative, a coalition of concerned indigenes in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, has raised concerns over the presence of landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices in their communities asking the Federal Government to come to their aid by removing them.
The initiative, consisting of businessmen, professionals, community leaders, and traditional rulers, was established to support the government in tackling security challenges in Orsu.
The group’s chairman, Chukwudi Okparaku, who spoke with TheNigerian Metro following a press conference by the group on Friday, expressed fear over the worsening security crisis in their communities, revealing that landmines and IEDs had been extensively planted across Ihitteukwa and Awo Idemili, endangering both civilians and security personnel.
“At a point, the once peaceful Orsu LGA became a shadow of itself with a complete breakdown of law and order and the loss of over 5,000 lives,” Okparaku lamented.
According to him, over 50,000 people have been brutally killed since the IPOB began operating in the area.
He further explained that in two major attacks in Amannachi and the Agricultural Produce Checkpoint in Awo Idemili recently, security personnel were murdered, and the violence escalated into widespread destruction of property.
“Houses belonging to some prominent indigenes, especially those associated with the government, were looted, burnt, and destroyed,” he added.
The group detailed how IPOB militants sacked local police stations, destroyed government infrastructure, and left essential public services in ruins.
Okparaku noted that there is “hardly any electricity transformer, public school, telecommunications mast, or health centre across Orsu LGA that was not looted and destroyed.”
He further revealed that local vigilante groups, particularly in Awo Idemili, were forcefully disbanded by the ESN, with their weapons seized.
Despite the presence of a Joint Task Force monitoring the security situation, he warned that some ringleaders and their remaining spies, agents, and informants had intensified their attacks with even greater brutality.
“Towards the end of 2024, when normalcy appeared to be gradually returning to Orsu and families started coming home for the Christmas celebrations, these criminal elements struck again, killing more than 50 innocent people in attacks across Amaebu, Ihitenansa, Umuhu Okabia, and Awoidemili,” Okparaku explained.
The Deputy Chairman of the group, Onyeoma Ezeifedi, whose family had been directly affected, called for urgent military intervention to demystify Udeke Valley, a suspected hideout for militants launching attacks on civilians.
“Our place is completely deserted,” Ezeifedi said in tears.
He continued, “I was so happy when I heard that the Appeal Court affirmed the designation of IPOB as a terrorist organisation. If no one else sees it that way, the Orsu people do because they have been destroying my hometown for the past four years.”
He dismissed claims that the ESN was defending the region against Fulani herdsmen, arguing that the geography of Orsu does not support the presence of herdsmen.
“They said they were fighting Fulani herdsmen, but the typography of my place doesn’t allow for the existence of herdsmen. We do not share any boundary with any northern state.”
Ezeifedi revealed the gruesome nature of recent killings, stating that on January 7, 2025, the group emerged from the bush, killing everyone in sight before retreating into the forest.
“Just last Wednesday, they stormed my house and killed four women,” he lamented.
