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Nigerian blogger, Akubueze Faustinus and many other youths in Imo State have abandoned their communities following clampdown on them for allegedly supporting proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) through social media publications.
Recall that Police authorities have vowed to clamp down on bloggers and influencers who publish articles relating to the proscribed IPOB.
In 2018, a police clampdown on IPOB groups and bloggers led to the missing of over forty of them.
Emma Powerful, the group spokesman claimed that a combined team of Police and Army personnel attacked its members who were returning from the burial of one of their members, Odika Esieme Chukwuma from Igbo Ukwu, Anambra State.
Powerful said the group was at Nnewi, at about 5.30pm when it was attacked by the security personnel who shot at them, leaving scores of its members with injuries.
It said it had taken stock and discovered 40 of its members were missing as a result of the attack.
It remains unclear if they have been released or are still in detention.
Meanwhile, the clampdown has continued unabated, pushing many young South easterners to flee their homes for safety.
Also a statement issued by Emma Powerful in 2021, uncovered a plot by the Nigerian government to arrest and take into custody IPOB members and their sympathizers.
As far back as 2014, some of the names lined up for either elimination or detention as seen in the media then were top bloggers, including Akubueze whose platforms constantly reported alleged victimization and oppression of south east youths in the name of IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Since then, Akubueze went underground amid search by officers of the Nigerian government. The development has ignited fresh alarm by his kinsmen who have raised the alarm over the search for him. They questioned why bloggers should be victimized for reporting violent activities in the south east.
In February this year (2025) six of the young man’s friends, Ifeanyi Anayo, a.k.a. Zuma De Rock, 28; Chukwuemeka Odionyenfe a.k.a. Nmimi, 22; and Kingsley Sunday, 21; all natives of Ogube, Ihube in Okigwe Local Government Area,” were all neutralized by the Nigerian military.
Mr Emmanuel Azubuike, a politician and kingmaker from Ehime Mbano in Okigwe Zone
of Imo State said it was an act of injustice to have gone after Akubueze, a young man who is only dedicated to doing his job professionally.
He questioned the perimeter being used to measure the level of sympathy the security operatives are claiming Akubueze has for IPOB.
“As we speak, many youths from Imo State have deserted our community. You are well aware of Akubueze, a blogger who was simply doing his job. This man has gone into hiding for years. Are we going to fold our hands and watch this level of impunity go on endlessly? Akubueze has gone underground since 2014. What is going on?
Similarly, a community leader, Joseph Okechukwu lamented that since 2014, there have been no traces of Akubueze and some other youths labeled as sympathizers of the proscribed IPOB.
“Our youths are living a dog’s life. Many of them have left the state. Some are hiding in places they can’t disclose for merely demanding their rights. I ask, where is Akubueze today? Where are those young men declared wanted in 2013 and 2014? We can’t continue like this.”
AFRIPOST reports that similar clampdowns have continued in the south east. On May 30, 2024, an attack on some youth groups resulted in the death of many soldiers.
Efforts to reach the police and the military authorities to get their angle of the story failed as phone went unanswered.