The Ikem Uno Youths Association in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu state, has dismissed as false and misleading a recent report alleging the existence of a criminal gang operating within Ikem Uno community in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State.
In a rejoinder dated May 20, 2026, and signed by its Youth President, Sunday Agbodo, the association faulted a May 18 publication titled, “Fear grips Ikem Uno as stakeholders raise alarm over rising criminal activities.”
summitnews.com.ng
The youths described the report as “80 percent fiction and 10 percent recycling of old unrelated incidents,” insisting that no organized gang exists within Ikem Uno community.
According to the statement, the report wrongly linked local youths to criminal activities and attempted to portray community-based vigilante efforts as gang operations.
The association acknowledged the prevailing insecurity in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area but attributed it largely to attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen operating around farming settlements along the Enugu-Benue border, particularly in Ikem and Eha-Amufu communities.
It stated that local youths have consistently worked alongside security agencies to defend residents and support community policing efforts.
“The youths in the affected communities have had to defend their communities in collaboration with security forces.
“Ikem Uno youths are the first responders in security breaches before the police and military arrive.”
They also help fish out criminal elements within the community and hand them over to the police for prosecution.”
The association also rejected claims that hoodlums operating from Ikem Uno attacked the Isi-Uzo Divisional Police Station and destroyed public property.
It clarified that the police station attack occurred on July 18, 2023, and was officially attributed by the Enugu State Police Command to suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
The youths argued that eyewitness accounts at the time indicated that the attackers came through the Eha-Amufu axis and escaped toward the Benue border, suggesting they were not residents of Ikem Uno.
The statement further distinguished the police station attack from a separate incident involving protests by some youths at the palace of the traditional ruler, Igwe Okey Ogbodo.
According to the association, the palace incident stemmed from internal community disagreements and was resolved peacefully by elders, contrary to claims that it was linked to gang activity.
The youths also denied allegations that a structured criminal network existed in the community, describing such claims as “fiction” unsupported by any evidence.
They noted that Ikem hosts a divisional police station, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), and military checkpoints, making it unlikely for an organized criminal syndicate to thrive undetected.
The association additionally faulted allegations that the purported gang was involved in stealing railway sleepers, arguing that there is no railway infrastructure in Ikem Uno.
“The nearest railway is at Eha-Amufu, a neighbouring community,” the statement said.
The group accused unnamed individuals of attempting to criminalize Ikem Uno youths through fabricated allegations and urged journalists to verify information obtained from anonymous sources before publication.
“We advise your website to fact-check data from sources, especially those who plead anonymity,” the statement added. ENDS//
