Human rights lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has raised the alarm over the state of insecurity and internal decay in South-East Nigeria, condemning the recent abduction and torture of popular social critic, Emmanuel Onyeka Okoh, popularly known as Okwuluora.
Okwuluora hails from Enugu State but was abducted in Umuaka, Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
In a statement issued on Friday and titled “Ala Igbo Is Bleeding, and Its Wounds Are Largely Self-Inflicted – Kidnap of Okwuluora in Focus”, Ejiofor described the abduction as a symbolic tragedy that reflects a deeper moral and security crisis gripping the South-East (Igbo homeland).
“This was no random abduction,” he said. “Okwuluora was not taken by strangers. He was not a victim of foreign invaders.
“He was kidnapped, blindfolded, tortured, and nearly executed by his own people; men who spoke his language, knew his background, and shared his roots.”
Even more disturbing, Ejiofor noted, was that the ordeal occurred just meters away from a military and police checkpoint, raising serious concerns about state complicity or negligence.
“And perhaps the most horrifying part? His captivity occurred only a few meters away from a military and police checkpoint,” he said.
“Young men, once the pride of their clans, now morph into nightmarish militias. And all this unfolds under the passive gaze, or perhaps complicit nod, of those sworn to uphold security and order.”
Ejiofor lamented the descent of Igbo society from a bastion of unity and resilience into what he described as a “hunting ground,” plagued by fear, betrayal, and internal sabotage.
“Imo State is bleeding. Ala Igbo is bleeding,” he said. “And the wounds are no longer from external blows. They are self-inflicted, cut deep by betrayal, silence, fear, and complicity.”
Recalling the aftermath of the 1966 pogroms and the subsequent birth of Biafra, Ejiofor urged the Igbo people to rediscover their lost spirit of unity and moral courage.
“What war failed to destroy, internal decay threatens to finish,” he warned.
Ejiofor questioned: “How did we get here? How did a land once famed for its unity, industry, and resilience descend to this level of internal rot, where fear now reigns and terror is homemade?
“We have spent too many years blaming external aggressors and distant enemies. But today, the most urgent enemy resides among us, and sometimes, within us.”
He described Okwuluora’s kidnapping as a “prophecy in real time,” calling it a wake-up call for Ndigbo to confront the rot from within.
“If we do not rise to cleanse our land, then our silence shall one day be judged as betrayal,” he said.
He noted, “Okwuluora’s near-death experience confirms what many have quietly suspected: That a faction of our own kith and kin have turned Ala Igbo into a hunting ground, desecrating its sacred spaces and sacrificing our communal peace on the altar of greed, anarchy, and lawlessness.”
He lamented that today, entire communities in Imo State live under siege.
According to him, markets are silenced and traditional rulers are driven underground.
“And all this unfolds under the passive gaze, or perhaps complicit nod, of those sworn to uphold security and order,” he said.
The lawyer stressed, “Make no mistake: Imo State is bleeding. Ala Igbo is bleeding. And the wounds are no longer from external blows. They are self-inflicted, cut deep by betrayal, silence, fear, and complicity.”
Ejiofor called for divine intervention and collective reflection.
“May the God of our ancestors arise for Ala Igbo… May every agent of bloodshed and destruction be exposed, uprooted, and judged,” he said.