Arondizuogu Massacre: Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor decries killings in south-east, says it’s another Biafran War
…Demands urgent government action
Joseph Irikefe
Against the backdrop of the dastardly killing of over 7 youths in Arondizuogu, Imo State by gunmen on Friday, human rights lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described the incident as a “genocide killing,” which he said has been going on in several communities in Imo State and other states across the South-East. He called for immediate and decisive intervention by state and federal authorities.
In a statement he released on Saturday, Ejiofor condemned the recent massacre of unarmed civilians in Obinetiti, Ndiejezie, Umualaoma, and Ndiakwuwata, four communities in Arondizuogu, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo state by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Advocacy Times reported on Friday that at least seven people were confirmed dead and several others critically injured following a deadly attack by gunmen on the communities on Thursday night.
Confirming the attack, the Police Public Relations Officer for Imo State Command, DSP Henry Okoye, said in a statement that the assailants were alleged to be the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Ejiofor in his statement said, “This morning, I write with a heart heavy, shattered by grief, burning with rage, and aching with disbelief. I can no longer watch in silence as our homeland descends into the abyss of horror and moral collapse.
“What unfolded in these peaceful communities was not just another act of violence. It was a brutal reminder of our crumbling humanity, a dark chapter that has carved an eternal scar into the soul of our people.”
As the attack sparked widespread outrage, Ejiofor described the killings as “a chilling documentary of state failure, the erosion of our values, and the slow, painful death of our shared humanity.”
Ejiofor said the video footage of the attack, too gruesome to share, forever etched in the minds of all who saw it, and “showed lifeless bodies strewn across the land: our brothers, our sisters, our elders, our youths, mowed down in cold blood.”
“They were not armed. They were not criminals. They were not combatants. They were Igbos. They were human beings. Yet in one savage sweep, they were reduced to statistics, to silence and to corpses. This was no random act of violence. This was genocide unfolding in real time,” he added.
The lawyer likened the scale of the killings to the horrors of the Biafran War, describing the current situation as “a war undeclared; a silent, systematic war against a people rendered vulnerable simply because of who they are.”
He said, “The last time we witnessed this scale of targeted extermination was during the Biafran War. But that war was declared. What we are seeing today is war undeclared; a silent, systematic war.
“A war against a people rendered vulnerable simply because of who they are. We see the pattern. We hear the cries. We count the bodies. And we will not forget.
“The value of life in Alaigbo has sunk to chilling lows. A society where human life holds no worth is no longer a society, it is a jungle.
“And today, our beloved Alaigbo stands as a wasteland of shattered dreams, unburied corpses, and questions that echo with no answers. What hope can we speak of when the present is soaked in innocent blood?”
Ejiofor questioned the continued relevance of governance in Imo State, asking if authority has been replaced by “brute force, impunity, and the silent complicity of those who once swore an oath to protect.”
He said, “The screams were real. The blood was real. The deaths were real. And just as real, the deafening indifference of those in power. So I ask again, with searing urgency: Is there still a government in Imo State?
“Does governance still exist, or has it been replaced completely by brute force, impunity, and the silent complicity of those who once swore an oath to protect?
“Let it be said, without fear or favour: Alaigbo is bleeding. Alaigbo is burning. Alaigbo is dying. And those who should act have either turned away in silence or, worse, joined in the desecration.”
He directly appealed to all levels of government, local, state, and federal, to institute a security framework that protects civilian lives and upholds the dignity of every citizen, irrespective of ethnicity or political affiliation.
“We demand answers. We demand accountability. We demand justice. This is not just a political failure. It is a moral collapse, a spiritual betrayal, and the slow murder of a people’s soul.”
While official government response to the alleged incident remains pending, the statement has added to growing pressure on Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration, which has faced repeated criticism over rising insecurity in the South-East region, particularly Imo State.
Obinetiti, Ndiejezie, Umualaoma, and Ndiakwuwata, have reportedly experienced sporadic security raids in the past, with residents accusing state-backed operatives of extrajudicial killings, harassment, and property destruction.
However, these claims are yet to be officially addressed or independently verified.
Ejiofor called for peace and justice, saying, “This is a call to conscience, a call to leadership, a call to urgent action.
“Those entrusted with power; at the local, state, and federal levels, must rise beyond the confines of partisanship, fear, and self-interest.
“They must act swiftly to institute a security framework that respects rights and restores peace, a system that protects, not exterminates; that heals, not harms.
“We demand answers. We demand accountability. We demand justice. This is not just a political failure. It is a moral collapse; a spiritual betrayal.
“The slow murder of a people’s soul, let Alaigbo rise, let the truth be spoken, free from fear. Let those in power act, before our silence becomes complicity.
“Let the killings stop. Let the mourning end. Let healing begin. We unequivocally condemn this barbaric and dastardly act in its entirety, and we demand immediate and decisive action from the Government, if indeed any semblance of governance still exists in Imo State.
“Enough is enough, if it has not already been. May the souls of the innocent rest in peace, and may our land find redemption, before it is too late,” he concluded in the statement.