The increasing spate of robbery, killing and attack on innocent citizens of Imo state by suspected cultists who now run riot as they operate in broad day light has become a source of concern to many Imo residents.

247ureports.com investigations revealed that areas like Douglas and  School roads, World Bank Area, to mention a few, have been invaded by suspected cultists robbing, harassing and intimidating people virtually unhindered by security agencies.

Recently, about nine persons were reportedly killed at Awara in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the state, while the people of Umuduruegwelle in Ehime Mbano recently protested the activities of gangsters and bandits who also reportedly killed a woman in her farm.

This is even as the people of Njaba, Isu, Nkwerre and Nwangele council areas have been sleeping with one eye closed in the recent past with the hoodlums stealing babies and property with reckless abandon.

The people of the area have since resolved to visit any criminal caught in the area with jungle justice since the police have failed to react accordingly. So far, about seven criminals have been burnt in Nkwerre, Afor Umuaka, Afor Atta, Isu to serve as deterrent to others.

A resident of Owerri who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity recounted how he was confronted by some suspected cultists in broad daylight along Douglas Road and dispossessed of his money without anybody raising eyebrow.

Also, some traders along School road by Ekeonunwa Market who also would not want their names in print recounted the incessant attacks from suspected cultists who frequently rob them and disappear without trace.

A lawyer (names withheld) residing in World Bank Area of Owerri also confided in our reporter that the activities of these bad boys now restrict their movements once it was 7pm, and wondered whether the police and other security agencies in the state were not aware of the situation.

247ureports.com further learnt that the security situation along Douglas Road, Ekeonunwa and adjoining streets may soon worsen if no serious steps were taken to check the menace of cultists by the police and other security agents in the state.

Imolites have therefore appealed to government and all stakeholders in the area of security in the state to stand up to the new challenges posed by the activities of hoodlums especially, cultists noting the evils of kidnapping and baby theft were already becoming the order of the day.

Meanwhile, in a move meant to subtly urge the police and other security agents in the state to up the ante in the fight against crime, the women of the state have joined the battle against cultists and kidnappers who have besieged several communities in the state.

The women led by the wife of the state governor, Nneoma Nkechi Rochas Okorocha, noted that the outlaws, along with armed robbers and other hoodlums, had caused unspeakable atrocities and made life miserable for residents of Ohaji-Egbema and Oguta council areas.

Awara, Ohuba, Oguta, Ilile and several other communities were turned into killing fields by rival cult groups fighting for supremacy in the oil-rich communities. Some of the villages have consequently been deserted, others completely razed down.

Speaking when she organised a one-day prayer summit in Egbema through her Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI), the First Lady stated that the women were joining in the fight against cultism, kidnapping from the spiritual flank.

The essence of holding the prayer session in the crisis-ridden area, according to the First Lady, was to use the initiative to seek divine intervention in the riverside communities so as to bring a turnaround in the communities and help to restore the confidence of the indigenes and residents who had to flee the crisis-torn communities in the wake of the violence.

In his short sermon, during the prayer meeting with the theme, “Heal our Land O! God”, which attracted Christian women from within and outside the state, a Lagos-based preacher Timothy Ofoegbu decried the upsurge in cultism and fetish practices by politicians desperately seeking power.

He warned that such power-hungry politicians, who incite idle youths to perpetrate heinous crimes against innocent people, will face the wrath of God.

The cleric also condemned the indiscriminate conferment of chieftaincy titles on individuals with questionable means of wealth by traditional rulers, noting that this trend also contributes to the inordinate ambition to acquire wealth through criminal means.

He advised the people above other things, to embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour for speedy resolution of their problems and healing of their land.