An automobile parts dealer, Mr Ifeanyi Kingsley Iwuagwu, has fled Nigeria to save his life after a series of deadly attacks by bandits on his community in Imo State.

Iwuagwu, who left the country in January this year, said he was forced to seek refuge abroad following repeated violent raids that claimed several lives and left properties in ruins.

The young entrepreneur, a native of the Okigwe axis of Imo State, recounted how relentless assaults by armed men transformed his once peaceful village into a war zone. “I had no choice but to leave,” he told AljazirahNigeria Newspapers. “It became a matter of life and death. Remaining there would have meant waiting for the next attack.”

As the only son of an aged mother who depends entirely on him for her welfare, Iwuagwu said leaving her behind was the most agonising decision he has ever made. His mother now lives in constant fear and uncertainty.

“It breaks my heart to be far from her,” he lamented. “But I had to leave to stay alive, with the hope of bringing her to safety one day.”

In recent years, many residents of rural communities in Imo State have faced escalating threats from bandits and criminal gangs, forcing some to abandon their homes and even seek refuge overseas.

For Iwuagwu, the decisive moment came on 20 November 2024, when his shop in Amiagbo, Nwangele Local Government Area, was looted and set ablaze. “That was the day I finally decided to follow the path of some of my colleagues who had already fled abroad,” he explained. “There is no safe place in Nigeria anymore. We keep hearing reports of kidnappings, banditry, herdsmen invasions, and terrorist attacks across all six geopolitical zones—no one knows where will be next.”

Security experts and community leaders have continued to urge the government to provide greater protection for defenceless communities and address the root causes of insecurity in the South East.

For Iwuagwu, survival remains his foremost concern. “All I want is peace and the chance to live without fear,” he said. “No one should have to abandon their home just to stay alive.”

The South-East geopolitical region of Nigeria has in recent years become a flashpoint of violence, with numerous deaths and widespread destruction of businesses and property. Many residents have fled their ancestral lands in search of both safety and livelihoods.

According to Amnesty International, approximately 1,844 people were killed in the South East by both state and non-state actors between January 2021 and June 2023.

The organisation’s Director, Isa Sanusi, disclosed this during the presentation of a report and campaign launch against insecurity in the region, titled “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South East”, held on 7 October.

Many Nigerians are now placing renewed hope in the recently appointed service chiefs by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, praying that their tenure will bring lasting peace and restore public confidence in the nation’s security architecture.

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