Fear and outrage gripped Okigwe, Imo State, after a notorious terror commander, Ifeanyi Eze, popularly known as “Gentle De Yahoo,” executed three of his own fighters in a chilling display of brutality. The killings, carried out in broad daylight and captured on video, have sent shockwaves across the South-east already ravaged by insecurity.
The video, which surfaced on Facebook on Monday, showed the pro-Biafra commander interrogating three men—bare-chested, chained, and visibly terrified—before shooting them at close range with an AK-47 rifle. Local sources confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the execution took place this August in a remote part of Okigwe Local Government Area.
Eze, identified as a commander of the Biafra Liberation Army under Simon Ekpa’s Autopilot faction of IPOB, accused the men of abandoning their “duty posts” and using rifles under his command to rob motorists in Okwelle. Despite their pleas, the kingpin declared their actions a betrayal and made their deaths an example, warning others never to misuse weapons in his custody.
The slain men, according to longer footage obtained, admitted they had taken part in a robbery with a pump-action gun but claimed it was not premeditated. Eze, however, dismissed their explanations, shouting: “Anybody who dares take my iron for robbery must receive it hot!” before pulling the trigger multiple times.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed the incident on Tuesday. Spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye said the command was already tracking Eze and his gang. “Gentle has been on our radar, and we are doing everything possible to ensure he is arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law. His days are numbered,” Okoye assured.
This gruesome execution comes against the backdrop of escalating violence in Imo. Just last week, gunmen killed a vigilante operative and four residents in Ezinachi, Okigwe LGA, while herders reportedly slaughtered a vigilante leader and a colleague in Amakohia-Ubi, Owerri West. Hundreds of lives have been lost across the South-east in similar attacks in recent years.
The Nigerian government continues to blame IPOB for the spiraling violence, though the group insists it is not behind the wave of killings. With Simon Ekpa facing terrorism charges in Finland and commanders like Eze operating freely in rural communities, residents fear that Okigwe and other flashpoints may remain theatres of bloodshed unless security forces strike decisively.
For now, locals live in dread—haunted not just by the terror of armed groups, but also by the horrifying reality of fighters turning their guns on one another.
