In the Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, coordinated attacks on multiple towns on Sunday claimed the lives of at least eighteen individuals.
Umukabia, Eziawa, Ihitte Nasa, Umuhu, Amaoku, and Amaebe were the locations of the murders.
Locals were horrified and incensed after victims suffered severe knife cuts.
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, a native of Orsu and a former chairman of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, raised awareness of the development on Monday through his X account.
The tragedy came after the annual masquerade party that was held in Umuhu, Amaoku, Amaebe, and the adjacent villages.
Some locals gathered at a bar after the festivities, including some who had come back for holiday.
Nine people in the joint, including customers and attendants, lying in pools of blood with machete wounds were discovered by a bystander.
“Everyone in the joint, all nine people were discovered dead, either customers or attendants, and they had been butchered with deep machete cuts all over,” according to a source who asked to remain anonymous.
There were no gunshots or arguments heard within a few blocks of where we were. Members of the Eastern Security Network and the Indigenous People of Biafra are suspected of being responsible for this.
He stated that on the same day, three family-member-containing corpses were found in Umukabia, five corpses in Eziawa village, and five more dead in Ihitte Nasa, all of which had knife wounds.
“How these things occurred and no one noticed is beyond me. No one witnessed the murderers enter or exit the villages of Umukabia, Ezinwa, or Ihitte Nasa, where three people were killed and five more were killed. In a single day, Orsu lost eighteen promising lives.
“We believe that these murders were carried out in secret cooperation with Orsu boys who belong to IPOB and unknown ESN members,” the source stated.
Residents of Orsu were forced to relocate after years of IPOB and ESN domination, but recent military actions restored some of the land, enabling a phased resettlement.
Henry Okoye, the public relations officer for the Imo State Police, confirmed the murders and stated that inquiries are being conducted.
The police are aware of the killings, and CP Aboki Danjuma has already assembled a strong security team comprising the various security agencies to solve the case, Okoye stated. The CP urges people to maintain their composure.
According to an unidentified police source, the perpetrators wanted to scare locals into leaving the neighborhoods once more.