Abia Security Operatives uncover 34 decaying corpses of victims allegedly killed by notorious criminal gang in Okigwe forest
Joseph Irikefe
Operatives of the Umunneator Vigilante Group have uncovered no fewer than 34 skeletal bodies of victims allegedly killed by notorious criminals in the Abia-Imo states border forest in the South-East region of Nigeria.
According to a video obtained by Advocacy Times on Saturday, the victims were killed inside a forest at the Umunneator and Aku, Okigwe boundary by the alleged criminal faction of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) led by a notorious criminal identified as “Gentle.”
“This is the boundary between Umunneator and Aku, Okigwe,” a source disclosed.
“This is where Gentle’s faction of ESN takes their victims to before killing them. The video didn’t cover up to 20 per cent of the area.”
In the video, the security operatives said, “Anyone taken to this place doesn’t come out alive.”
According to the video, some of the victims had their hands tied behind them with ropes and wires while some were blindfolded before they were murdered.
At some spots in the forest, two or three skeletal bodies were found, suggesting a situation where either husband and wife or a group of abducted victims were brutally killed by the criminals.
Advocacy Times reports that in January 2025 that Gentle, the Commander of the Biafran Liberation Army, a group of gunmen terrorising South-East under the control of now-imprisoned Finland-based Biafran Nation agitator, Simon Ekpa, vowed to continue unleashing terror in the region until he brings Nigeria down.
In two brief videos shared on X by @KizyUzoma, a man identifying himself as Gentle, who has been on the Nigerian security agencies’ wanted list, stated that he does not operate from any camp.
He vowed to continue fighting until he brings Nigeria down.
He questioned why Nigerian security forces are searching for him, claiming that he is not a Nigerian and can never be killed.
In March 2025, a national newspaper reported that IPOB called for an independent investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings in the Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State.
IPOB alleged that a group called the Biafra Liberation Army was recruited and armed by the Nigerian government to impersonate ESN.
The group contended that the army was used to create violence and provide justification for terrorism charges against its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention for nearly four years.
The group further claimed that it had previously identified key criminal elements operating from the notorious “Mother Valley” camp in Orsu and Okigwe, and questioned why it took the Nigerian Joint Security Taskforce over three years to act against them.
The group also called for an extension of security operations to the Aku forest in Okigwe, where another alleged commander, identified as “Gentle Yahoo,” is said to be operating.