Ndigbo mulls reviving Bakassi Boys to confront attacks by herdsmen

      

     Following the recent killings of about 46 Nimbo villagers in Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen , strong indications have emerged that the people of the South-East may be on their way to reviving the dreaded Bakassi Boys as a standby militia to avert such attacks in Igboland in future.
This was one of the decisions reached at the Concerned Imeobi meeting of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo on May 1, 2016 at Enugu, according to a source who spoke to The Punch on the condition of anonymity.
The source revealed that it was observed, after a review of the whole situation, that the security situation in Igboland was generally porous.


     Bakassi Boys who were ruthless in visiting jungle justice on persons believed to have been involved in perpetrating vices and societal ills reigned supreme in the South-East particularly in Onitsha, Anambra State in the late 90s. The members, who were famed to survive life ammunition, purportedly wielded a special kind of machete they used in confirming the guilt of suspected evil doers.

Meanwhile, the communiqué of the meeting obtained by the newspaper in Awka partly reads, “…Our people should learn and imbibe the culture of being ready to defend themselves legitimately at all times, and at all levels; at least to offer reasonable defence, in the event of any impromptu attack, as we, the Igbo, are vulnerable and are grossly endangered.
“That the National Executive Council of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo must set up, as a matter of urgency, a ‘security and strategic endurance committee,’ and a ‘central coordinating security sub-committee on town unions, vigilance groups and neighbourhood watchers.’’