By Louis Achi
The Igbo idiom "Nwoke nusia ogu, nwanyi enwelu akuko" talks about man's penchant for taking credit for the struggles or sacrifices of others. For the benefit of those who do not understand Igbo, I'll attempt a translation: when a man finishes a war, the woman takes over the role of telling the story.
This scenario is currently playing out in Southeast Nigeria, particularly in Anambra State. The past few weeks have seen the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, touring markets and schools to, in his words, end the Monday sit-at-home.
Apparently, to underscore his administration's commitment to ending "sit-at-home", Soludo, within the space of three weeks, shut two markets: Onitsha Main Market and the New Auto Spare Parts Market in Nnewi. The move has drawn tons of applause for the governor, especially from those who feel that "sit-at-home" has seriously damaged the economy of the zone.
Social scientists, historians and persons in other fields of study are conversant with the phenomenon called cause and effect. In other words, they believe that every event (effect) is preceded by an action (cause).
Now, Soludo was sworn in as governor of Anambra State on March 17, 2022. The implication is that, by today, March 17, 2026, he has spent four years in office. Worthy of note is that the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) declared Monday sit-at-home on August 9, 2021 - seven long months before Soludo assumed office as governor. For three years and 10 months, Monday sit-at-home didn't appear to be his problem. Well, until now.
Interestingly, Soludo's anger with Monday sit-at-home began in late January, 2026. About two months earlier, on November 20, 2025, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment. Before the court verdict, many had predicted Armageddon in the Southeast region should the separatist leader be convicted, let alone sentenced.
What followed after operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) moved Kanu to Sokoto to begin serving his jail sentence, was absolute calm in the Southeast region. Weeks passed. More calm. Not even as much as a single protest in the entire region.
What is more, many say last Yuletide was the most peaceful the people of the Southeast region experienced in over ten years.
Soludo, apparently now convinced that Kanu's incarceration had greatly weakened IPOB, moved in. Being a politician who wouldn't allow any golden opportunity slip through his fingers, he seized the moment. Suddenly, he realized that sit-at-home was bad for the state. And that, consequently, he had to move to "end it."
What many may not have realized was that Kanu, now apparently feeling home alone in Sokoto, and realizing the enormity of his life sentence, according to sources, began reaching out to influential political and religious leaders. He reportedly began seeking a political solution and soft landing. One of the deals reportedly struck with those he reached out to, was for the imprisoned Kanu to show good faith by announcing the cancellation of the sit-at-home order.
It therefore came as little surprise that, in early February, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful announced that Nnamdi Kanu, from Sokoto prison, had “officially and permanently cancelled” the directive with effect from Monday, 9 February 2026.
“This directive comes directly from Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu himself, who has once again staked everything on the line to ensure that our children return to school every Monday and that our people go about their lawful businesses without fear, intimidation, or molestation,” said Powerful.
To the discerning, Governor Soludo's new found bravado wasn't farfetched. It stemmed from the speedy and diligent prosecution of Kanu by the DSS leadership, culminating in his bagging a life sentence.
The determination and coordinated efforts by the Nigerian state through her security agencies, particularly the DSS, not only has, in the estimation of many, proven yet again that, with the necessary political will, anyone who underestimates the might of the State does so at his or her own risk.
The return to normalcy in the Southeast has shown that threats to security, in whatever shape and form, are surmountable.
By early 2026, the result of relentless operations, particularly by the DSS, led to key prosecutions and internal fractures within the IPOB camp. These efforts resulted in citizens having increased confidence in the ability of the State to protect life and property, as well as maintain peace, law and order.
Even after Kanu's sentencing, it was obvious that the DSS didn't rest on its oars. The Service heightened the deployment of human and material resources into gathering accurate intelligence to further weaken what was left of IPOB's capacity to unleash terror on innocent and law-abiding citizens in the Southeast region.
To return peace and normalcy in the southeast, the secret police upped its game in smoking out IPOB commanders from their hideouts. They targeted and seized their cache of arms and ammunition, all the while cutting off fresh supplies. For the first time in years, the Southeast began witnessing a return to normalcy.
The end of the sit-at-home menace in the Southeast is a testimony to the fact that the strategy deployed by the DSS in turning the tide against IPOB's sit-at-home stranglehold on Nigeria's Southeast, worked.
The DSS' approach as it were, was, in every sense, holistic. While the agency sustained operations in the Southeast, the leadership pushed for the accelerated prosecution of lingering terror-related cases across the country.
It has become obvious to keen watchers that, intelligence-led security operations by the secret police, combined with adherence to the rule of law, can dismantle even the most deeply- entrenched insurgencies.
What is more, the series of arrests and prosecution of terror suspects by the DSS also sent a clear message that it won't be business as usual. With the DSS changing the strategy of leading the charge in counter-terror intelligence across the country, a lot can be seen to have changed.
For instance, from media reports, the DSS is now speeding up the trials of suspected terror kingpins like Khalid Al-Barnawi and his lieutenants accused of the 26 August, 2011, attack on the United Nations building in Abuja. The attack claimed the lives of over 23 persons from different counties. In September 2025, a Federal High Court in Abuja granted a DSS application for an accelerated hearing on the matter.
So is the DSS, from media reports, accelerating the trial of five men accused of carrying out the June 5, 2022 attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in which led to the death of over 40 worshippers.
According to media accounts, the same DSS leadership is vigorously pursuing justice for victims of the August 7, 2012, attack on Deeper Life Bible Church in Otite, near Okene, in Kogi State. About 20 persons died in the attack.
In August 2025, to the credit of the secret police, the media reported the capture of Abubakar Abba, aka Malam Mahmuda or Abu Bara'a, leader of the Mahmuda terrorist group that terrorized parts of Kwara and Niger States. The beauty in Abba's capture is that no single shot was reportedly fired by the DSS. He is currently being prosecuted by the secret police.
Just yesterday, Monday 16th March, a DSS officer narrated before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, how two Ansaru terror commanders, Mahmoud Muhammed Usman aka Abu Bara'a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda) confessed to receiving training in weapons in Libya.
Both men, who are confirmed commanders of Ansaru terrorist organization, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria, are reportedly responsible for several high-profile attacks, including the
July 5, 2022 one on Kuje prison.
The DSS didn't stop at nabbing radicalized terrorists. Their operatives have gone several steps further to arrest persons who, under the guise of communal clashes, unleash violence on law-abiding citizens. The trial of persons linked to the Yelwata massacre of June 2025, in Guma LGA of Benue State, readily comes to mind.
The attack, in which dozens of people were killed and 107 injured, drew worldwide condemnation. So much so that President Bola Tinubu had to pay a condolence visit to the state. There, the president demanded the arrest of the killers and attackers.
In August 2025, the DSS filed terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja, against nine suspects. Two suspects, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi of Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, who are still at large, were charged with four counts of terrorism, among which is the concealment of information about the attacks, before they were staged in Abinsi and Yelwata villages between June 13th and 14th.
In total, the secret police filed six separate charges against the arrested suspects, who are now undergoing trial. They are Adamu and Abdullahi are Musa Beniyon, Bako Malowa, Ibrahim Tunga, Asara Ahnadu, Legu Musa, Adamu Yale, Boddi Ayuba, and Pyeure Damina.
The DSS also charged two other suspects, Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, with three counts for allegedly carrying out reprisal attack against the terror suspects involved in the Abinsi and Yelwata attacks.
The trial before Justice Emeka Nwite commenced with the defendants’ arraignment in early September, during which they entered not guilty pleas.
Commenting on developments in Yelwata, the Director-General of the DSS, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, was quoted in a post on the agency’s official X handle as saying, "The various arrests and trials of terrorism suspects showed that Nigeria's security agencies have been diligent in dealing with the perpetrators of terror in the country. The men we are prosecuting are separate from the hundreds of suspects under the military's protective custody, whose cases are being handled by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. In July last year, 125 of the terrorists were convicted."
The statement further cited him as adding, "We shall continue to make the suspects accountable for disrupting the peace of our country, in consonance with the rule of law."
Meanwhile, reliable security sources indicate that DSS operatives have apprehended a key ISIS commander. However, in line with the agency’s evolving strategy of operational silence, confirmation of the arrest may not be made public for several weeks.
Sources also reveal that intensified crackdowns by the DSS, targeting suspected terrorists and disrupting their arms supply chains, have forced criminal networks to adopt new smuggling tactics.
According to multiple accounts, these groups are increasingly recruiting unsuspecting women and young girls, particularly in northern Nigeria, to transport weapons. The couriers are reportedly paid between N20,000 and N50,000 to deliver what they are told are sacks of grain, which often conceal arms and ammunition.
In one instance, a source disclosed that a middle-aged woman transporting such illicit cargo even "hired" a child to appear as a nursing mother and avoid suspicion.
"Given the rising cases of arms couriers posing as grain dealers, the DSS boss, who is certain that ignorance cannot be an excuse for breaking the law, has ordered his officers to prosecute any arms courier posing as a grains merchant," a source said, adding, "the DG believes the country can only be safe if people are held to account for their actions."
Another source noted that the DSS now views strict enforcement of the law as the most effective path to addressing insecurity.
There are indications that the coordinated efforts of the DSS and other security agencies, marked by improved intelligence sharing and precision operations, are yielding results, significantly weakening the capacity of terrorist groups to move weapons.
These developments, observers say, underscore the state’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding citizens, even amid persistent security challenges. Authorities, however, stress that public cooperation, especially through the provision of timely information, remains critical to sustaining these gains.
Achi, a senior journalist who has edited several national newspapers, writes from Abuja.