The nature of insecurity we have now predates Kalu’s emergence, the formation of ESN, the arrest of Kalu, and the escalation of the insecurity/criminality in the southeast.
We cannot deny that practicing criminals joined Kalu’s course, because Kalu said it himself. He once called on all that were into any form of armed criminality, chief amongst which is kidnapping, to join his course and fight in what he called “defense of motherland” or get totally eliminated by his ESN, he said.
He went further to share news of how his ESN dealt with criminals brutally, especially kidnappers, and then appealed to those who are yet to join his armed team to join or get served hot judgment. He said he has forgiven them for what they did in the past but won’t take it to see them committing similar crimes again. He laid curses on anyone committing a crime in the East and urged all who felt they had the strength to use it to fight in defense of ala Igbo.
Only God knows the extent the people he called on responded. When Kalu was out, there was a decrease in the reported cases of kidnapping, etc. The most reported cases then were battles between his men and security agents. He kept updating his position on such events using his social media handles and that of his social media team.
Locals can attest that in the areas where the insecurity was hot (before Kalu’s capture), there were almost zero cases of stealing, kidnapping, etc… and that his boys were very brutal in handling such cases when they occurred as they constantly shared them online.
But when Kalu was arrested things went South. Gradually, the reports flying around became a mixed report of criminality and agitation.
These are my reasons to believe that when Kalu was arrested, some criminals who joined his course reverted to their old business. Hiding under the agitation or anything else to carry out their crimes is a thing criminals do. They often hide under one thing or the other to do what they do, so that they won’t be easily detected. I feel that other criminals who didn’t join his course also continued their crimes, with nobody knowing who was who.
Ekpa’s approach to leadership of the group didn’t help matters. People died in numbers and no one could differentiate whether it is criminals or agitators that are responsible for the killings.
It got to a point where people’s phone numbers were called and asked to stop going out on Mondays or to pay a certain amount, etc.
I remember a certain time I went home, and a boy showed me a text from so-called ESN, asking him to succumb to threats by someone that was owing him or get dealt with. Later, when I saw the boy after two years and enquired of what became the case, he said that he took up the matter, and it turned out that the person owing him framed up the whole thing to make him afraid and deter him from collecting his money.
This is me saying that people should reduce their being emotional about Kalu and accusing him of being the alpha and Omega of insecurity in Anambra and other places. There was insecurity before Kalu’s emergence and had Kalu not done what he did, the same criminals will still do what they are doing, if not properly followed up and dealt with.
The formation of joint task forces and other strong/ intelligent security teams in our country predates Kalu’s emergence this proves that crime has been here before his arrival. Kalu himself cited insecurity in the region as justification for him forming his own security apparatus.
This is not the time to apportion blames… It’s time to be sober. The escalation of insecurity after Kalu’s formation of ESN is not different from the problem we have been having as a people, whenever we try addressing sensitive issues. Almost all the teams that were formed to combat insecurity later escalated it and Kalu’s isn’t different. Remember sars, isakaba, ESN and other groups.
Rather than show emotions and throwing verbal attacks let’s learn from this history and put in place measures to ensure that any security measures we are taking from hence will not turn out to be worse than the problem we seek to solve with it later.
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