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Orsu LGA of Imo state is crawling with unexploded bombs planted by dislodged and fleeing gunmen who had booby-trapped most access roads leading to their hideouts.
This discovery came to light following the deadly bomb blast that killed some locals and injured many at a local market in Orsu.
This is also as the community has issued a final and urgent ultimatum to their indigenes bearing arms and camping in forests with either the Eastern Security Network (ESN) or the Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), to surrender and accept amnesty in the next two weeks or have themselves to blame.
Security sources confirmed that prior to being driven out of several communities, fighters affiliated with the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and Biafra Liberation Army (BLA) deliberately planted explosive devices in strategic locations. These bombs, primarily intended to target pursuing security forces, remain buried and active, posing a severe and ongoing threat to civilians and development in the area.
One of the major locations identified among many others include the critical Ihiala-Orlu road, a route the gunmen wanted to ward-off any incursion of security operatives.
The danger extends beyond immediate safety concerns; residents and officials fear future construction or development projects could inadvertently trigger these hidden hazards if not discovered and neutralized first. This has prompted intensified bomb disposal operations by security personnel across the affected areas over the past month.
The danger of this situation was re-emphasized by the recent deadly bomb blast in Eke-Ubahaeze, Awo-Idemili, Orsu LGA, on Tuesday.
In response, the Odimma Orsu Initiative on Security, led by Chairman Chief Ethel Odimegwu, issued a two-week ultimatum to Orsu indigenes still operating with and working for ESN or BLA in the local bushes.
Chief Odimegwu announced an amnesty program scheduled to take place in Owerri within the next two weeks, though the specific date remains undisclosed. He described it as a “golden opportunity” likely never to be repeated.
“These children of the devil deceived by the devil himself planted a bomb that our people didn’t notice and it caused a big tragedy,” Odimegwu stated, reacting to the Eke-Ubahaeze incident.
He urged extreme public caution: “I wish to use this opportunity to tell our people to be careful wherever they see something they don’t understand. When you see such things, report. We have experts on ground trained to neutralize such threats.”
Addressing the gunmen who some call “Umuoma” or “Unknown Gunmen” directly, Odimegwu pleaded: “I also want to use this opportunity to advise some of our brothers that are still in the bush in the name of ESN or BLA or Biafra to please know that it’s not our interest to lose them. We don’t want to lose more people. We advise them to come out from there voluntarily and be saved.”
He emphasized inclusivity: “Irrespective of how long they’ve stayed there, if you come out voluntarily, we’ll accept you and counsel you. Whether you have ESN tattoos or you’re their messenger, no matter how you have collaborated with them in the past, we urge you to repent now and save yourself.”
Odimegwu however delivered a blunt warning to those refusing the offer: “If they refuse to come out, let them know that when they’re caught, they’ll be given the same treatment they gave to their victims.”
He charged all Orsu community leaders to ensure the ultimatum reaches every gunman still hiding.
He lamented the devastating impact of the violence, largely driven by the false pursuit of Biafra secession: “Killing, kidnapping, raping have taken Orsu backwards by more than 10 years.
Investments were coming here until this madness started. We’re tired of it and want our beautiful homeland back.”
Odimegwu dismissed the localised violence as futile: “We can’t be fighting each other on a mere fallacy of looking for Biafra. This fight for Biafra that’s happening only in Orsu is not enough to give them Biafra. One Local Government cannot create Biafra.”
For those who may reject the amnesty offer, Odiegwu assured that, “He who kills by the sword and wants to continue killing by the sword, shall die by the sword,” , urging the gunmen to seize what he termed their “last chance.”
The next two weeks will be critical for Orsu as security forces sweep the community to neutralize deadly explosives and as community leaders make last minute efforts to bring their “brothers in the bush” home before a ruthless crackdown.
