Since January 2020, Imo State has experienced significant killings by non-state actors, primarily involving criminal gangs, separatist militias, and gunmen.
Over 650 fatalities from criminal violence, including targeted killings by these groups, were recorded between January 2020 and May 2024.
Incidents include attacks on police officers, local vigilantes, and civilians, such as the killing of two police officers and a civilian in June 2024 at a security checkpoint in Ikeduru LGA, and the ambush killing of three vigilantes and a passerby in July 2024 in Njaba LGA.
Separatist groups, notably the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), are suspected in violent attacks, including a May 2025 incident where gunmen killed at least 30 people and set over 20 vehicles ablaze on the Okigwe-Owerri highway. This attack highlighted the ongoing insecurity and disregard for life in the state.
Between February and October 2021, at least 41 civilians and 11 security personnel were killed in Imo State amid clashes involving state and non-state actors.
The overall violence in the Southeast region, including Imo, has been exacerbated by attacks by armed groups.
Gunmen killed two security personnel at the Isiala-Mbano Local Government Area secretariat in Imo State by storming the council headquarters around 8:30 pm, shooting sporadically, killing two vigilante members on duty, and setting part of the council building and several vehicles on fire.
The attackers came in large numbers, firing sporadically and throwing improvised fuel bombs, causing destruction and forcing many to flee to neighboring villages.
In Mbaise, gunmen abducted and killed Eze Joe-Benz Ochulor, the traditional ruler of Otulu autonomous community in Ezinihitte-Mbaise LGA. He was kidnapped at his palace on a Saturday morning and his lifeless body was found that night along Mbutu road in a neighboring community.
Also, gunmen attacked the Owerri Custodial Centre, a correctional facility in Imo State, Nigeria, in the early hours of Monday, April 5, 2021, around 1:40 to 2:15 am.
They used explosives to blast the administrative block and forcefully entered the prison yard. The attackers, reportedly arriving in several vehicles and armed with sophisticated weapons including machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and AK-47 rifles, engaged in a fierce gun battle with security personnel on duty.
They freed a total of 1,844 inmates, most of whom fled, while 35 inmates refused to escape. The attack also extended to the nearby police command headquarters, where vehicles and buildings were set ablaze, and suspects were freed from detention cells. The operation lasted about two to three hours.
Investigations reveal that non-state actors attacked and killed no less than 40 persons in Imo in the year 2022 alone.
On February 1, 2022, a retired chief superintendent of police, Christian Kpatuma, was killed and beheaded in the Mgbala community in Agwa, Oguta local government area by a suspected inmate escapee, Daberechi Chukwu.
In what appeared like a war on democracy and democratically conducted elections, gunmen in April 2022 reportedly attacked a voter registration center and killed a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Amakohia town, Ihitte Uboma LGA.
The gunmen killed the INEC official, Mr Anthony Nwokorie, who was carrying out the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Imo State, alongside others.
Mr Nwokorie was killed on 14 April, when the gunmen attacked some INEC officials and intending registrants at Nkwo Ihitte (PU 004) in Amakohia Ward (RA 02) in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of the state.
On April 17, 2022, a resident was reportedly killed during a clash between security operatives and separatist militias in Ihioma town, Orlu LGA.
On April 18, 2023, soldiers reportedly opened fire on civilians in Orlu LGA shortly after nightfall. It wasn’t clear how many people were killed as of press time, but a source whose neighbour was shot dead by the soldiers said no fewer than four persons had been killed in what many described as a gross violation of fundamental rights. Nigeria’s security forces would eventually deny the allegations.
Also, on July 17, Gunmen suspected to be Ebubeagu operatives shot dead 14 youths in Awomamma, Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, leading to public outrage.
Ebubeagu is a security outfit backed by the Imo State Government.
Some residents claimed 22 youths were killed during the attack, but authorities later confirmed it was fourteen.
The victims, who hailed from Otulu, another community in the council area, were said to be returning from a marriage ceremony in the Awomamma Community when the Ebubeagu operatives opened fire on them.
Residents from the victims’ community went into the streets, protested the killing, and called for the disbandment of the Ebubeagu outfit.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State would later claim that operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), not Ebubeagu, killed the youths. The governor reportedly claimed that all the youths who were killed by the SSS operatives were criminals.
The killing of the youths trended for months, with several groups, including Amnesty International Nigeria, calling for an investigation into the incident
Again, on Monday, August 1, suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, killed seven persons in an attack on the Hausa community in Orogwe, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
Confirming the attack, the Hausa community leader (Sarkin Hausawa), Auwal Bab-Sulaiman, who represents the Northern Community in the Council of Traditional Rulers in the state, said the incident took place on Monday night.
According to him, eight people sustained injuries during the attack and received treatment at the Federal Medical Center, Owerri.
“They shot at six people and beheaded one person and took away the head, eight people sustained injuries and were rushed to the Federal Medical Center Owerri because the Orogwe community is just about 10-minute’ drive to Owerri town,” he disclosed.
On August 8, 2022, four policemen and a commercial motorcyclist were killed during the attack on the Agwa Police Division in Oguta council.
On November 7, 2022, a military man was allegedly gunned down in Izombe, Oguta local government area, which attracted a reprisal.
In another attack, the traditional ruler of Obudi, Agwa, Ignatius Asor, was, on 14 November, killed alongside three of his palace staff, when suspected IPOB members invaded the community.
Obudi, Agwa is a community in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.
The police spokesperson in the state, Michael Abattam, who confirmed this in a statement, said the slain monarch had allowed the terror group inside his palace after they had disguised themselves as people in distress and had come to report an emergency to the royal father.
In December 2022, rampaging gunmen killed a policeman at 7up junction, Orji, in Owerri North, during which an elder brother of Nollywood actor, Prince Osita Iheme, was killed, while the Imo state commissioner for Solid Minerals, Martin Eke, was seriously injured.
This brings the total number of recorded killings by gunmen in Imo State to 40 in 2022 alone.
Also, Ahmed Gulak, a former political adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and APC chieftain, was killed by gunmen on May 30, 2021, in Imo State while on his way to Sam Mbakwe International Airport in Owerri to catch a flight to Abuja.
The attack occurred around Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area, where bandits blocked his vehicle and shot him after he allegedly refused their demands.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed the assassination and revealed that members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its paramilitary wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), were responsible for the killing.
Police engaged in a gun battle with the attackers, killing six of them and arresting others linked to the crime.
The police also arrested suspects, including an army deserter identified as the mastermind behind the murder and other attacks in the state. Gulak was buried according to Muslim rites shortly after his death.
As the 2023 General Elections approached, the Labour Party candidate for Onuimo State Constituency in Imo State was killed on 16 December when gunmen invaded his house.
The attackers also set Mr Elehu’s house ablaze and destroyed his property, including a motorcycle. His corpse was said to have machete cuts allegedly inflicted on him by the gunmen.
In summary, since January 2020, Imo State has seen hundreds of killings by non-state actors, including separatist militias and criminal gangs, with frequent attacks on civilians, security personnel, and vigilantes contributing to a deteriorating security situation.