IN SHORT: A viral message on Facebook claims that the governor of Abia state in Nigeria, Alex Otti, has asked the Eastern Security Network, associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra, for “protection”. The claim comes amid several attacks on local farmers across the country, but the state government has debunked the claim.
Alex Otti, the governor of Abia state in southeast Nigeria, has roped in the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to protect local farmers from Fulani herders. That’s according to a message going viral on Facebook in Nigeria since early April 2025.
The message reads:
JUST IN: Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has approved the involvement of IPOB’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) to confront Fulani herdsmen and protect Abia farmers, following the continued inaction of Nigerian security forces. ‘If the Nigerian police and military refuse to act against these bandits, I have no choice but to authorize the ESN to defend Abia State. Sometimes, madness can only respond to madness ... I will arm the ESN – the only force the Fulani herdsmen truly fear.’
The ESN is a security outfit associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra, a separatist group agitating for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra.
In 1967, the southern region of Biafra declared itself an independent state. Nigeria’s government rejected the secession, leading to a brutal 30-month-long civil war.
The Fulani are a widely dispersed group of mainly Muslim cattle herders, scattered across West Africa.
The claim began circulating amid a rise in violent attacks allegedly by Fulani herders. They have been accused of attacking local farmers across the country, but there is no evidence that all Fulani herders are involved in criminal activities.
The same claim appears here, here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)
But is it true? We checked.
Abia state government debunks it
Nigeria has been battling with clashes between local farmers and Fulani herders for many years. When such attacks took place in the past, the media covered them and any responses from governors, state governments and organisations. But we found no report on Otti making such a statement or the Abia state government enlisting the help of ESN.
The posts also didn’t specify when and where Otti might have made the statement. Such a lack of detail is often a clue that a story is inaccurate or made up.
If the Abia state government had made this decision, it would have announced it. But we found no statement on this on the state government’s official website.
Otti’s special adviser on media, Ferdinand Ekeoma, told journalists the claim was false and “crafted to incite disaffection and cause unnecessary tension in the state”.
“For the records, the government of Abia State under the leadership of Dr. Alex Otti could not have contemplated embracing the services of non-state actors to fight criminals and insecurity of any kind in any part of the state,” Ekeoma said.
The claim that Otti has roped in the ESN to protect local farmers from Fulani herders is false.
The same claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
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