The belief that security has improved in the South-East since the onslaught on separatist groups, among others, is countered by clandestine activities of criminal elements, including cult boys and petty thieves. LAWRENCE NJOKU and GODDY UDEAJA examine how this has impacted nightlife in the region.

Shortly before he was relieved of his appointment as the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (Retd), said that the security situation of the South-East had improved since the arrest of self-styled Prime Minister of Biafra, Simeon Njoku Ekpa, in November 2024, in Finland.

Ekpa in November last year. Ekpa was eventually convicted on terrorism-related charges in September this year in Finland.

Musa, who is now the Minister of Defence, also stated that the activities of Ekpa and “the likes of him” had contributed to “violence and crimes against civilians in southeastern Nigeria,” adding, however, that normalcy was gradually returning to the South-East region as the development was beginning to impact the economy and other activities.

Those who were around during the height of insecurity in the region in 2021 somehow agree with Musa that the number of guns being brandished and bullets used to maim and kill in the area Is also currently reducing.

They also agree that the business environment is improving, as commercial activities on Mondays are gradually returning, even when institutions belonging to the federal government have continued to observe the Monday sit-at-home. While these federal institutions remain shut on Mondays, state government-owned institutions, however, operate fully.

Contrary to the era where security operatives were daily mowed down on government facilities, these attacks and killings have simmered down, as well as the burning of state-owned institutions, and homes and apartments of targeted private individuals.

But how has the return of relative peace and improved security impacted nightlife and its attendant business activities in the region?

Investigations by The Guardian reveal that nightlife and attendant businesses remain a far cry from what goes on in the day, an indication of a region that is “dead” at night. Prominent locations and roads that hitherto thronged with pleasure and business activities during the day are deserted by 9:00 p.m., apparently due to lingering fears of a resurgence.

Further checks indicate that this development is compounded by the state governments’ failure to permit the operation of commercial transport operators beyond 9:00 p.m. Most states in the region restrict commercial taxis, buses, and tricycle operations to 9:00 p.m. as part of efforts to curb insecurity in the region. The inability of residents to move at night due to transport challenges is also adversely affecting nightlife.

In addition to this, the current incarceration of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which has elicited fresh fears in the South-East, also contributes to the poor nightlife.

After several years in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment last month. Despite currently serving his sentence at a correctional facility in Sokoto State, fear of the unknown still assails those who are willing to do business or move about at night.

In fact, since Kanu’s sentencing, most businesses now close early, while the few that open until 9:00 p.m. do so only on streets within residential neighbourhoods where they are sure of security.

Presently, only major drinking joints, pubs, and clubhouses that have their own standby security operate fully at night. Their patrons arrive either with their private vehicles or hired vehicles, the fees for which are neck-breaking.

Streets being locked up as early as 8.00 p.m. are now commonplace, while residents who arrive in their neighbourhoods after the gates have been shut are forced to park outside their areas. It is also a common sight to see security operatives patrol major roads in urban areas, stopping to conduct stop-and-search operations. They gradually disappear into thin air as the night gets older. Once they go away, petty thieves and hoodlums take over, dispossessing people of their possessions.

Residents still sleep with an eye open

Ikenna Uzokwe, an Uber driver in Owerri, Imo State, was relaxing in his residence after closing from the day’s business when his phone suddenly rang. The caller was one of his clients, who asked to be ferried to the MCC Road that fateful evening, where he was billed to pass the night, having arrived in town from Abuja.

Because he wanted to sustain the business relationship, Ikenna left his World Bank area residence, dropped off his customer at the MCC Road, and decided to fuel his car. A few minutes after leaving the fuel station, a red-coloured Toyota Camry car pursued and blocked him. Three gun-carrying men alighted from the vehicle and marched him straight into their vehicle and zoomed off. It was later discovered that the boys were armed robbers who not only took his phones but also used them to clear all the money in his account.

When he returned to the spot where his vehicle was abandoned the next morning, it had been vandalised. Ikenna vowed never to leave his home again after 7:00 pm.

Jerry Nanka, another resident, arrived in Awka, Anambra State, from Ibadan at about 6.00 p.m. for an event last month. He decided to hang out a little before proceeding to his hotel room.

He had hired a tricycle operator who took him to a joint on the popular Abakaliki Street. At about 7:30 p.m., some gun-wielding cult boys invaded the area and dispossessed everyone in sight of their money, mobile phones and other valuables.

Jerry escaped with his life, but his android phones and cash were taken after the boys slapped him for attempting to run on sighting them. When he arrived at his hotel room later that night, he vowed to prioritise his safety.

But Ikechukwu Umeh, who returned to Enugu State from Australia in June this year, was not that lucky. He had gone to meet up with his friends at a hotel in the New Heaven axis on a fateful evening. After staying briefly with them, he decided to return home. He didn’t live to see the next day, as he was shot and killed that night by gunmen after pulling over to urinate.

Several other murders and assassinations have taken place in the early hours of the night within the region, thus creating a climate of fear among night crawlers and other residents.

Chukwubuike Ozonna, who runs a mini shop in Eke-Awka, Anambra State, stated that the only people who talk about nightlife are those “die-hards who cannot live without it,” stressing that the activities of cult boys and gunmen were making it difficult for business owners to operate at night.

He said the claim that security has improved in the region has no bearing on the improved nightlife in the region.

He said: “I don’t have any reason to stay outside beyond 9:00 p.m. anywhere in this city. This is as a result of the way these cult boys behave; they comb shops, rob and shoot at random anytime after 7:00 p.m. In this area where we conduct our business, we can stay until 6:00 p.m., and when there is light, you can stay until 9:00 p.m. But anything outside that, you can be robbed,” he stressed, adding: “You cannot compare the kind of nightlife people enjoy in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt with what is going on in the South-East. In fact, the South-East is a dead region when compared with some states in the country as far as nightlife is concerned.”

The Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Ibuchukwu Ezike, stated that the rate of killing and abduction in the region was affecting nightlife negatively, stressing that residents no longer go out or effectively undertake businesses at night for fear of being attacked.

He pointed out that the 9 pm ban on tricycle operations, imposed by some governors in the zone due to insecurity, has not been lifted, explaining that commuting has also become a problem for those without personal vehicles.

He added that several guns and bullets are still circulating in the region, with several communities still in the grips of hoodlums. “For instance, after Ekpa and Kanu’s convictions, Arondizogu in Imo State remains a no-go area. Citizens are attacked, and security officers are killed. This led to the military threatening to attack parts of the community, especially Ikpora and its environs. This has resulted in the people relocating to other areas of the zone and beyond to seek protection.

“Similarly, there are areas such as Lokpanta, Osuiyite Ukwa and Ibini Ukpabi of Arochukwu in Abia State and Okigwe in Imo State. The mindless killings and disappearances in Okigwe are so much that Igbo women under the aegis of Igbo World Assembly (IWA) staged a protest to press home their demand for a solution to the senseless security crisis in Igbo land in September 2025.

The situation is also tense in Imo State, where human lives are wasted, and socio-economic activities are interrupted and disorganised. Apart from Okigwe, Obowu and Mbaise areas, Orlu, Orsu and Oru local councils are the major areas where insecurity reigns in Imo State.”

Ezike continued: “In Anambra State, areas like Lilu in Ihiala Local Council and Ogwuaniocha in Ogbaru, Ayamelum, Out Ocha, Aguleri, Umuleri, Oyi, Amansea, Orumba North and South, Uke, Aguata, Dunukofia, etc, are areas of security threat as at present.

“In Ebonyi state, too, there are areas of security threat apart from communal clashes that have lasted in some parts of the state for quite a long time. Izzi, Ezza, Onicha and Afikpo communities have been under siege.

“In Enugu State, some local councils such as Isi Uzo, Uzo Uwani, and communities in Nsukka, Igbo Etiti, Igbo Eze North, and Udenu local councils are experiencing dire insecurity. Ogbaku, Agbogwugwu, Ituku, Isu Awa, and Ihe in Awgu Local Council and its environs are under a security threat. Only a few weeks ago, a newly married young man was murdered in cold blood at Ndeaboh, the headquarters of Aninri Local Council.

“The Priest in charge of St Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu, Nsukka Local Government Area, became the latest of the murder victims in the state. He was driving into his parish house when daredevil assassins snuffed life out of him on September 20. These are chilling accounts that compel residents to want to stay home at night.”

Not all doom and gloom in the East

Even with the difficulties experienced in navigating the region at night, many still believe that nightlife is being rejuvenated, especially since drinking establishments remain open until very late at night.

John Echefula, a security expert in Umuahia, Abia State, told The Guardian that nights in Abia now bubble with pre-wedding and pre-burial parties, church crusades and night clubbing and various cultural activities, adding that, “it is getting better at night considering what it used to be some three or four years ago”

He, however, Insisted that there was a need for the governors to do more, stressing that with the return of policemen to some strategic junctions in the region to ensure the security of lives and property, the governors should reverse the curfews imposed in their states to deepen the effort.

He said that the restriction of commercial vehicle operations by governments and the fear of attacks by residents have not helped nightlife to return to the region. He, however, added that, while people are kidnapped in the day, there had not been any reports about attacks on night travellers within the region.

Echefula further noted that restoring nightlife in the southeast would not only boost the economy but also create job opportunities for the region’s residents.

An eatery operator at Ogui Junction, Enugu, who identified himself simply as Benjamin, agreed with Echefula. He said he does his business until 11.00 p.m., but “I don’t return home for fear of being attacked. I sleep in my facility and return home the next morning.

“I do so because I can’t afford to hire a cab, which is the only means after 9.00 p.m. The last time I tried it, I paid N18,000 from Zik Avenue to Trans Ekulu, which ordinarily costs about N1000 by tricycle in the day.”

He added that residents must decide to live out their fears, while there should be adequate protection for nightlife to thrive once again in the region. (The Guardian)

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