Villagers say soldiers forced elders to the ground and warned of house burnings during a search for separatist fighters, prompting fears of another deadly confrontation.
By Ebere Inyama
(Enugu state) Following the suspension of three traditional rulers in Ezeagu county of Enugu state and a threat of invasion by the Nigerian soldiers, residents in the area have begun to flee from their homes, TruthNigeria has learned.
Residents allege coercion by Nigerian soldiers
Residents of Imezi – Owa community in Ezeagu county say that elderly men and women were forced to sit on the ground at the village market square by soldiers of the Nigerian army who demanded information on the whereabouts of members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) during a military operation on 6 May, 2026 , according to reports from the media.
The community residents said the soldiers threatened to burn more houses in the community during subsequent operations, if they failed to identify or produce suspected ESN operatives allegedly hiding in the community.
“The threat by the soldiers triggered panic across the community with families abandoning their homes over fears that they could become victims of another military crackdown”, said Ekene Igwe, a resident of Ezeagu county to TruthNigeria.
Earlier in a statement, the Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, said that “ While troops of Sector 1, Operation UDO KA, in collaboration with other security agencies were advancing on foot to Imezi owa community in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State on 6 May 2026, they were attacked from a building by suspected terrorists of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) resulting in injuries to three personnel”.
“During the exchange of fire, Improvised Explosive Devices stored by the terrorists in the building used as their hideout; detonated and triggered a fire outbreak that destroyed the hideout”, the statement continued.
“Subsequent searches around the general area uncovered more IEDs, improvised hand grenades and a shrine used for ritual activities.
“One collaborator was apprehended during the exploitation around the general area and has been handed over to the Nigerian Police, Ezeagu Division, for further investigation”, the statement added.
A community under siege
“The security challenges facing the people of Ezeagu Local Government area (county) are hydra-headed,” said Igwe to TruthNigeria.
“Aside from the frequent attacks, killing of our people and destruction of our farmlands by the Fulani Ethnic Militia, the people of Ezeagu are being harassed, beaten and abducted by Nigerian soldiers”, Igwe continued.
” We have been living in fear since these herders occupied our lands and set up camps from where they operate”, he added.
According to a recent report by TruthNigeria, the militant arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had attacked armed Fulani herders occupying some farmlands in Ezeagu county in response to an invitation by the Ezeagu community guards, an action that led to a gun battle between the ESN and Nigerian soldiers on 6 May, 2026.
ESN orders ‘evacuation’ of residents
Believing that the gun battle with the Nigerian soldiers was not yet over, the ESN have ordered the residents of Imezi Owa in Ezeagu county to evacuate from the area with immediate effect so as to avoid civilian casualties during further confrontation with the Nigerian soldiers, according to sources close to TruthNigeria..
In a statement titled ‘Imezi Owa Must Not Become Another Orlu,’ a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and councillorship candidate for Imezi-Owa Ward 11, Linus Obiora Madukaife, raised concern over the ‘ evacuation order’ given by the ESN.
“The warning by the Eastern Security Network (ESN) mandating residents of Imezi Owa to vacate their homes over fears of a possible confrontation between the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Nigerian military should concern every son and daughter of our community,” the statement by Madukaife read.
“We have seen this story before. The people of Orlu and surrounding communities in Imo state paid a heavy price in 2021 when armed confrontations turned their towns into battlefields”, the statement continued.
“Families fled their homes, businesses collapsed, schools closed, farms were abandoned, and innocent lives were caught in the crossfire.
“To the leadership of the ESN: I plead that Imezi Owa should not be used as a theatre of war,” Madukaife added.
Analysis by security experts
Courtesy – A. A Obasi, Kingsley Ogbu, E L Ndulie and Constantine Mgbajiorgu/ Researchgate
“Continuous use of the Nigerian Armed Forces for internal security operations is weakening the Nigeria Police Force and posing long-term risks to the country’s democracy”, said security analyst, retired Captain Abdullahi Bakoji Adamu.
“Military operations alone cannot address Nigeria’s security challenges,” said security analyst, Bala Husain.
Fulani violence in Enugu Traces to 2014
The first documented mass invasion of Ezeagu County in Enugu State by Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) occurred in June 2014, affecting over 40 agrarian communities. This major incursion marked a dramatic escalation in localized violence, resulting in the death of many residents, rape of women and girls, burning of peoples’ houses and destruction of their farmlands.
Violence and land grabbing by the Fulani Ethnic Militia is not peculiar to Enugu state. From the North central to the southwestern part of Nigeria, reports of land grabbing, kidnappings, killings and destruction of farmlands by the group are replete.
As at May, 2025, more than 20,000 square kilometers of farmland have been forcibly occupied by the Fulani Ethnic Militia in Nigeria’s middle belt, displacing thousands and threatening Nigeria’s food security, according to the Civic Coalition Against Mass Atrocities in the Middle Belt.
Ebere Inyama reports on conflict for TruthNigeria.
