“Armed hoodlums are still holding Imo State and its citizens, hostage. Nobody knows who the next victim will be. Palpable fear and confusion has since taken over. The siege is real. People are angry and uneasy. A lot has already been written about the menace of these rampaging gangsters. People no longer have the boldness to discuss the issue openly because of the dire consequences of such bravery.

The sound was deafening, staccato and rapid too. It was strange, invoking fears and trepidation. It was an admixture of deafening sounds from the blasts of dynamites, rocket launchers and Ak 47 assault rifles. Residents had their sleep rudely interrupted, wondering what was happening.

In Rigassa, a dingy, uncharted, crammed suburb about 5 km west of Kaduna State Government House, death lurks on select enemies of some unidentified gunmen, suspected to belong to a rising cell of a militant sect in the area.

In 2008, members of Folarin Coker’s family, a former aide to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, were thrown into disarray when his little daughter was kidnapped and flown to Ghana by a man who was apparently employed into the Coker’s home as a driver.

The spate of violent crimes and the recklessness with which criminals unleash terror on hapless residents of Imo state; especially those living in villages and suburbs, is assuming a frightening dimension. The state government and by extension, the police command seem helpless as these faceless terrorists of the state are effortlessly milking their victims and smiling to the banks.