“We are not against fighting insecurity, but not at the cost of innocent lives,” community warns.

The Awomamma Development Forum, a coalition of indigenes from the Awomamma community both at home and abroad, has filed a strongly-worded petition to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Chris Musa, demanding urgent intervention over what they described as “systematic killings of unarmed citizens under the pretext of combating insecurity.”

In the petition, jointly signed by the Forum’s Legal Adviser, Barrister Obinna Amagwula, and Diaspora Representative, Chris Ndedigwe, the community decried what it termed “state-sanctioned aggression” and condemned the ongoing military operations that have led to the deaths of non-combatant villagers and destruction of family homes.

“It’s been over three years of bloodshed masked as security operations,” said Ndedigwe. “We can no longer stay silent while our people are targeted and killed without cause.”

The petition, which was also copied to the Director General of the DSS and the Governor of Imo State, cited the most recent incident involving Mr. Vitus Mbah, a 60-year-old truck driver and gravel dealer, who was fatally shot inside his vehicle.

The community described Mbah as a well-known and respected elder, questioning the rationale behind targeting civilians instead of apprehending actual suspects.

“When you shoot soft targets like an old truck driver, you’re no longer fighting crime—you’re creating terror,” Barrister Amagwula stated.

The leaders concluded with a warning that if the government fails to act, the community may have no option but to explore self-help mechanisms to safeguard their people.