Bakassi Boys resurface, warn ESN, IPOB, others

The long-forgotten vigilante group in the South-East, Bakassi Boys, have resurrected amid growing insecurity in the five states of Igboland.

Its latest appearance was in Awka, Anambra on Tuesday, as community members sighted them in two buses, warning criminals to leave the state, according to the Daily Trust.

Outlawed IOB/ESN and opportunistic criminals have been terrorising Anambra and four other states, and the security agencies appear overwhelmed.

The Bakassi Boys back then was a terror to criminals, including ritual killers, robbers, and any notorious citizen, and their mode of operation was largely extra-judicial killing.

Their second coming has been interpreted differently.

Some are of the opinion the government brought the charm-wearing group back to work with the security agencies to stem insecurity across the southeast.

Others believe they BB would be used as a countermeasure to the rampaging IPOB/ESN whose secessionist activities have upended law and order in the region.

Police have yet to make official statements on the group.