Timeframe: 2021 – 2023
Location: Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi
Key Actors: Eastern Security Network (ESN), Ebube Agu,
state-backed vigilantes, political spoilers
Epigraph:
“Multiple armed actors now wear the cloak of ‘Unknown Gunmen,’ making
attribution extremely difficult.”
— International Crisis Group, 2022 [1].
The Camera Lens
A police station in Orlu smolders. Witnesses say attackers shouted IPOB slogans; survivors insist they recognized voices of local vigilantes on government payroll. Hours later, governors blame “Unknown Gunmen,” a label now used for everything from criminal gangs to rogue soldiers running false-flag operations. The fog of war becomes policy.
International Crisis Group documented how state-backed vigilantes such as Ebube Agu engaged in extrajudicial killings while claiming to fight IPOB [1]. Their operations blurred lines between law enforcement and vendetta. Residents accuse them of extortion and of staging attacks later pinned on ESN to justify crackdowns.
ThisDay reported that over a dozen Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices were torched in the South East ahead of the 2023 polls [2]. Analysts asked who gains when voter registration is halted. Some point to politicians who fear low turnout; others blame IPOB factions seeking to delegitimize Nigerian elections. In the absence of transparent investigations, “Unknown Gunmen” becomes a convenient scapegoat for all sides.
The “Unknown Gunmen” label functions as political fog. It allows the State to dodge accountability for rogue forces while allowing extremists to hide in anonymity. Until perpetrators are named, violence will remain a tool for both repression and sabotage.